Imagine
by celohei
Summary: Basically, the result of my mind asking "What if the BAU team was thrown into the Naruto-verse?"
1. Chapter 1

Hello, people!

I'm not usually one for long author's note at the beginning of a story (or at all, for that matter), but this one deserves one and **PLEASE READ** IT because it is necessary to understand the story.

First things first: no, I'm not abandoning my other stories. Far from that. I'm just facong a bad case of writer's block and uni-induced chronic lack of time. But then, how come I have this brand new story to offer?

Well, the answer is ismple: it is not new at all. I was digging into my hard drive for some forgotten but needed file and I found this story. Just for the fun I read it and despite the stylistic... hum... questionable points, I found that I still liked it. After much hesitation, I decided to post it here. Now this story is to be read within a particular framework:

Where to begin? Ok, so some years ago (2011 apparently) I was addicted to both Naruto and Criminal Minds. And there was this one time, while watching a CM episode, I just thought "What would the BAU team think if they were thrown into the Naruto-verse?". You know, that really basic question. Well, that question kept bugging me and bugging me until I decided that fuck it, I'm gonna try and discover what they indeed would think were they in such a situation. And voila!

So this story started out as a simple personal writing experience. A two-fold one actually because it was also the first time I wrote in English, which is not my mothertongue.

And so I wrote. I tried to come up with an answer to my question. And after a while, even if I liked that story, it got buried under everything else and forgotten (_and some things which should not have been forgotten, were lost..._)

After years passed, and finding it, I decided to post it because it is still a good experience for me as a writer. I corrected a few typos and grammar mistakes but basically left the text untouched. That also means that the characters won't be up-to-date with the manga/anime/show!

Since it is a writing experience before anything, and one based on the psychological dimensions rather than the plot, it might come off as slow or lacking action. I won't apologise for that because that is the point of the story (although, there is some action in it). And since my mind came up with some scenes that are not necessarily linked but that I like, there might be plot devices or plot holes in it, too. BUT I will do my best to paste everything together smoothly! For the same reason, the cutting into chapters will probably be mostly random (I will try to keep their length somewhat regular).

So, in short: old writing experiment, dusted and all patched up, updates irregular due to personal life (and disorganization).

I think that is all... I hope you're still there despite the very long AN (sorry for that, BTW, but it was neccesary).

If that is the case, thank you and enjoy the ride !

-Celohei

* * *

**Chapter 1**

Spencer woke up and went through his morning routine. Today was like any other day: he would wake up, spend an ordinary amount of time in the bathroom, eat his breakfast thinking about the book he would have read the night before, leave his flat, take the metro and arrive at the BAU headquarters where he would meet with his team. Without fail, that's exactly what happened this morning. Upon his arrival, he saw JJ entering the conference room, indicating that a meeting was in order. When everyone but Dave was sitting, JJ began her briefing:

"-Good morning everyone. As you must guess, our help is required on a new case. However, this one is a bit special so I will let Hotch explain it.

-Thanks, JJ. As she just said, this case is special. We are to work together with another team from another country.

-That's new." Said Derek ", From which country?

-That's the trick. The team is from some equivalent of the CIA, this is why I can't reveal that kind of information.

-What do you mean?" asked Emily. "Do _you_ know where they are from?

-No. And the higher-ups wouldn't tell. The only thing I know is that we are to meet with them and from then, probably follow them to their base. Knowing that, you won't be surprised to learn that we'll only receive the details of the case from them directly. I'm sure you have some questions to ask but I can't give you the answers considering I don't have them myself. Now, wheels up in 30 minutes. Rossi won't be coming with us. He's at a three-day congress. Should we need his help with the case, he will meet up with us later on. And I believe JJ is needed here so it will just be the four of us.

-What about Garcia?" asked Derek.

"-What about me?

-Will we be able to contact you?"

Penelope and the rest of the team looked at Aaron.

"I don't know."

Once on the plane, Aaron gave Spencer, Emily and Derek a file each:

"-We just received these. They are pictures of the crime scene we'll be working on. They asked us to draw a first rough profile of the killer.

-Wait, that's it? That's all they have?

-No. But they invited us to help from an outsider point of view. They didn't send us what they have so our judgment wouldn't be biased.

-But without further information, we can't do much.

-I know, Reid. But apparently, they aren't allowed to discuss more information by any technological means that could be hacked, it would be 'too much of a risk'. So I can't really do much either. Just… just look at those; I think there _will be_ something to work on."

So they opened the files.

"-Oh my God!" hiccupped Emily.

"-Wow. That's…" trailed off Derek.

"-I know.

-That's mad! Who could just do such a thing?" asked Emily, horrified. She emphasized her words by pointing at one of the photographs. On it could be seen bodies, about twenty of them, lying on what seemed to be a forest floor. There was blood everywhere. "They are terrified. Look at their faces. All that blood, what happened to them?

-Based on the splattering of the blood and the apparently clean cut on this guy, I'd say a huge knife.

-A knife? A knife couldn't possibly do that much damage, even a huge one.

-Well, my first impression was a sword of some sort.

-Really? Reid, you're kidding, right?

-Not necessarily. Prentiss just said it: a knife wouldn't do that kind of damages.

-Yeah, but a sword? Come on.

-Not a sword exactly. Look at their cuts. A sword would be too heavy to make those. Those are made by a swift movement and, judging by the faces of the victims, I'd say everything happened pretty quickly. So the weapon would have to be easily lifted and maneuvered.

-So what do you suggest?" asked Aaron.

"-A saber would be more suited.

-A saber now?" Derek snorted ironically, "Hotch, seriously, what is it with this case?

-Just focus, ok? We'll know more when we arrive.

-And that would be…?

-In a few hours."

Hearing Aaron's answer, Derek sighed heavily. Emily seemed to have a hard time believing what she was seeing. Frowning, she asked:

"-Is that a uniform they're wearing? It looks like they're wearing the same kind of outfit.

-Yeah, you're right.

-It will definitely help for the victimology.

-Guys, there's something amiss with a few of them.

-What is it?

-See the way the blood is splattered all over this guy's face?" asked Spencer showing one of the bodies, "Well, on this one," he said showing another one on a second picture, "there's nothing above his eyebrows. It's… it's like there was something covering his forehead.

-You think the unsub took it?

-It could be.

-It may be his trophy then.

-Well done, Reid. Look at every picture and see if others present the same thing. Now, we still have a few hours left before landing. Let's try to make the best of what we've got and rest a bit."

Three hours later Derek woke Spencer up. The plane was preparing for landing. On the ground the four-member team walked out of the plane. Four people were waiting for them near two black cars. As they walked closer, the BAU members could see that there were three men and a woman. The man on the left was the tallest of the three. He was lean but not thin. His hair was silver and stood out of his otherwise young appearance. It was messy but in a kind-of-classy way. He wore a marine costume and a grey tie. His hands were in his pockets and he managed to slouch and look serious at the same time. A tall blond guy with spiky hair stood on his left. He was smaller than the grey-haired man but broader. He was also wearing a costume, albeit a black one, with a dark red tie that he apparently couldn't stop touching nervously. He was some kind of fidgety, which lead the arriving team to think that he wasn't used to wearing that kind of clothes and certainly didn't like wearing them now. The girl of the group stood next to him. She had surprisingly shoulder-length pink hair that really attracted the eye. Her outfit was nothing like the men's. It consisted of large black pants, black boots, a deep pink jacket on top of a pastel green t-shirt. Her demeanor was more relaxed and welcoming. The last member of the group was standing behind his colleagues, next to the first car. The only way to describe him was 'average': average height, average brown hair, average brown eyes, average deep green costume. He was the quietest of the group as he simply stood there, doing nothing but breathing.

The tallest man closed the distance between the two groups and introduced himself, presenting his hand to Aaron:

"-Hi! I'm Hatake Kakashi, I'm the captain of this squad. This is Uzumaki Naruto," pointing at the blond guy, "Ito Sai," the average guy, "and last but not least, Haruno Sakura," finally introducing the girl.

"-Hi. I'm SSA Aaron Hotchner, these are Derek Morgan, Emily Prentiss and Dr Spencer Reid.

-Nice to meet you. I trust you have questions to ask us so we'd better go somewhere we can answer those safely."

The two teams got into the cars and headed for the highway. In the first car, Kakashi explained to Aaron:

"-We are not quite yet at our office. I'm sorry but for security measures we'll have to take the train; these cars are way too recognizable.

-We understand."

For Spencer, everything happened in a kind of numbness. The plane, the car, the train… He understood that they had not quite reached their destination yet but he couldn't bring himself to feel surprised. Or actually, he was surprised and downright curious about the case but couldn't master the will to show it. The other members of his team, though, were quite vocal about it at first. When they arrived at the station, Derek showed his skepticism:

"-The train, uh?

-Well…," began the pink-haired girl, Sakura, "We can't exactly risk anyone out here following us to our… organization. The cars are going to take another direction as baits in case we are being followed. Plus, the train is the only way to get in.

-All right, then." Derek sure wasn't convinced but decided to adopt the wait-and-see approach.

Once on the train, which wasn't crowded, strangely enough considering how close the station was to the airport, Kakashi began the conversation.

"-So, did you received our intel?

-Yes. And I must say," answered Aaron, "we were surprised by what we saw." At that, the blond boy and the girl seemed to tense, which didn't go unnoticed.

"-Yeah, I can easily picture that. So were we." The man took a pause and seemed far away.

"-What did you conclude from these pictures?" asked the until-now silent Sai.

"-Well, the unsub certainly didn't do things in half.

-_Unsub_?

-Unknown subject.

-Not plural? What led you to believe that there was only one executioner?

-The blood trail," answered Derek.

"-The fact that the blood is splattered in a definite direction leads us to believe that this is the work of a single man," explained Spencer. "It's not easy to see, but we can observe that the onslaught probably began here," he said pointing to a corner of one of the pictures, "and then went this way to… here. There are, however, some random traces, like if the unsub came out of his pattern for some of the victims.

-Interesting," commented Kakashi, fixing intensely Spencer's face. Derek had the feeling that the man found Spencer's explanation in itself interesting rather that the conclusion of said explanation.

The blond man wasn't listening to the conversation anymore. He was looking to the passing landscape through the window, his eyebrows in a slight frown.

"-What else did you find?" asked Sakura.

"-The weapon…" said Emily, "it's probably a saber or something of the like."

At this, every member of the secretive team, even Naruto, who appeared to actually be listening, fixed their eyes on her and then on her colleagues, apparently jauging them. After a few seconds, Kakashi smiled. Spencer immediately got the impression that the BAU members just passed a test that they hadn't been aware of taking.

"-I think it was a good idea to call you guys in. But enough for now. We will explain the case in details to you back at the base. For now, let's relax. We should arrive in about an hour. There's a coffee machine over there if you need," he finished, indicating the end of the wagon.

Derek stood up and headed for said machine, followed by Emily. Pouring his beverage and some for Spencer out of habit, he whispered:

"-Did you notice?

-Yeah…" replied Emily in the same tone, "'squad', 'executioner', the way they carry themselves…

-These guys have military training.

-I thought they were part of some kind of CIA…

-It's a little more complicated than that," came a deep voice from behind them. They hadn't heard the blond man arrive. He poured two cups of tea.

"-Naruto, right?" Asked Emily, at what the blond nodded. "We didn't mean to be rude.

-No problem. That's why you're here, isn't it? Observe, understand, make conclusions…"

A little taken aback by this, Emily blinked a few times before answering: it wasn't everyday that someone whom they came to help on a case accepted said help that easily, even if they were invited in.

"-Well, yes. So…" she tried to begin a conversation, Derek having returned to his seat with his cups of coffee, "you guys are like teammates, is that it?

-Yeah, actually, we _are_ a team. Just like you I guess.

-You have worked together for a long time?

-A few years."

This took Emily by surprise: Naruto, Sakura and Sai seemed pretty young to her, making it difficult to click with the 'a few years' concept. As they went back to the others, Naruto took the seat next to the pink-haired girl and gave her one of the cups of tea. Emily took the seat in front of her.

"-Here, Sakura-chan.

-Thanks.

-A few years, uh?

-Well," answered the girl, getting the subject of the conversation, "we kind of went to school together."

After this explanation, the conversation derived to more trivial matters. After a few minutes, Naruto resumed to his silent observation, leaving the girls to their easy chat. True to Kakashi's words, an hour or so later, the train entered a tunnel. Five minutes later, the train stopped and the passengers stepped out. The two teams were the only ones on the platform. The station seemed to be underground. Kakashi led the way to the stairs.

"-We are to meet with our superior, she will explain everything."

After a five-minute walk they stopped in front of one of the closed door of the hall. It seemed to the BAU team that they were either still underground or at least in a restricted area of a building, seeing that they hadn't seen anybody and there weren't any window. Kakashi knocked on the door. A feminine yet authoritative voice answered him:

"-Come in." As they did, Kakashi and his team bowed lightly:

"-Tsunade-sama.

-Team Kakashi, I was waiting for you. And our guests… Come in!"

The room was a well-lit, windowless office with a large rectangular table in its center. At its end sat a young blond woman. Her hair was tied in two ponytails, her eyes a common hazelnut. She wore a large green shirt. She stood up, showing her quite average size and said:

"-Welcome. I'm Senju Tsunade, the head of this… organization.

-Nice to meet you. I'm SSA Aaron Hotchner, these are Derek Morgan, Emily Prentiss and Dr Spencer Reid.

-Nice to meet you. Please, sit down. So, I believe your superior introduced you to the… special status of this case.

-She only told me it was confidential and only to be discussed here.

-Good." Authority emanated from her. She seemed to be the kind of woman to be obeyed. "Now that you are here, we can begin. As you just said, this case is classified, as well as everything related to it. I don't mean to be rude but you have to understand. The information you are to come across is of high importance and can become really dangerous in the wrong hands. Now, I am well aware that I'm not your boss and it is not in my prerogatives to sanction you should you not respect this secrecy. But I called you in for I hope I can trust you.

-Don't worry, Ma'am. It is part of our job not to discuss any detail of any case with any outsider. We understand and respect the need of discretion in that kind of situation. Be at ease.

-Good. Now back to business. You were told that we are some equivalent of your CIA. That's not exactly true but it's similar enough for you to understand the gravity of the situation. One of our agents has gone rogue. We brought you in to help us arrest him." At that everyone straightened. That kind of case wasn't, by far, the easiest to handle. The BAU members now understood the importance of the case and the need for secrecy.

Kakashi and his teammates had kept silent so far but they clearly became more serious about the whole thing. Naruto was downright gritting his teeth. After a brief silence, Derek asked:

"-So, the killer is that guy?

-Yes.

-I don't understand. Why do you need our help if you already know who the killer is? Why don't you just arrest him?

-We tried. But that bastard keeps playing with us. He was one of us, he knows how we work, how we think. That's why you're here. We need outsiders that don't know him and thus have a new approach of the case. And above all, we need outsiders that _he_ doesn't know… Here, everything you need is in that box," Tsunade said, pointing to a box on the corner of the room. "You'll be working here, if it's ok with you.

-I'd like Morgan and Prentiss to go to the crime scene.

-Impossible. The pictures you saw were taken months ago, there's nothing left there.

-How can you be sure we wouldn't find anything?" Derek interjected.

"-Because we _made_ sure there was nothing left." answered Kakashi. After a few tense seconds of surprised silence, Aaron was the first to speak:

"-All right. Shall we begin, then?

-I'll let you work and go back to my own stock of paperwork. Team Kakashi will come back later on to pick you up and lead you to your hotel once I've made all the arrangements for your stay." With that the newcomers were left alone.

"-Ok guys, let's get to work. I know we're not quite used to that kind situation but let's do our job."

Once they closed the door, Team Kakashi followed Tsunade to her office.

"-Report.

-They are capable. They're suspicious but they seem to understand our security measures or, at least, they won't complain about it for now.

-Good. What about the pictures?

-Well, I don't know how long they spent on their analysis but they were surprisingly accurate.

-Freakingly so, if I must say." added Sakura. Tsunade rose an eyebrow, encouraging Kakashi to go on.

"-They were able to tell the killer was a man, approximately where the attack begun and the way it went. They didn't understand the exceptions of some of the dead but I would have been really surprised if they had, seeing only a ninja wouldn't find anything weird about it. They could also determine what kind of weapon was used. All in all, those guys know their job and are quite good at it. For civilians, that is.

-I see. Though, if I were you, Kakashi, I wouldn't call them 'civilians' in their face. They _are_ agents of their government after all." The woman paused for a moment. "Well, that will be it for the time being. We'll see how they'll progress. Now for the funny part." She smirked as Kakashi sighed. "I'm sure you've understood that they cannot, under any circumstance, figure out they are in a hidden village nor what is a hidden village.

-Of course.

-Excuse me, shishou, but how can we hide the entire village from them?

-For tonight, when one of you will accompany them to their hotel, we will put them under a light genjutsu, like we've been doing until now. All they will be able to see are the civilians. They'll also be put under genjutsu in and near to Hokage Tower. There are just too many ninjas in this area, we can't do anything else. For the rest of the time, well… The jounin are aware that we have special guests. They don't know why they're here but they do know that they can't be spotted doing anything even remotely ninja-like. But since they _are_ jounin, it won't change anything. I wish good luck to any outsider in spotting a jounin. Even our own civilians rarely spot one. The ANBU aren't even worth worrying about. That leaves the chuunins and genins. I left Shikaku Nara in charge of the chuunins. Apparently he made up a mascarade test of stealth inside the village. I don't know exactly what he told them but I think the grand lines are 'If you're spotted by any civilian, I'll have you stuck to D rank missions for the next six months'… Or was it a year?" At that Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura snickered. They felt for the chuunins but found it too entertaining to really pity them. Plus, it would make a nice training. "Anyway. The genins won't be a problem. I don't think our guests will see anything else in the genins than children playing. If something leaks, we'll see what to do when it happens but I think it highly improbable. Okay, if you don't have any questions, you're dismissed. I'll send for one of you later to accompany them to their hotel and eventually show them the main places of the village.

-Hai!" And the team left.


	2. Chapter 2

_Hello people_

_So here is the second chapter. I have a few more things to say first._

_First of all, thanks for the reviews and followers and favs. This story is far from being as popular as my other ones but I expected it (it's not a usual crossover and I don't usually like crossovers myself, most of the time not even reading their summary). So thanks._

_Second, the update was fast but don't expect me to update as fast the other times. It's already written but I have so many things on my mind right now that updating will not be my priority. (And the chapters might not be as long as this one and will most probably be cut randomly)_

_Also, you might find this chapter a bit slow. Don't forget that it was a writing experience before anything (character development and manipulation). It'll get more ... or let's say less slow as the story develops._

_And lastly, don't forget that it was written several years ago so the characters' info will not be canon because the canon just wasn't there at the time. (Well, this is Fanfiction after all)._

_I think that's all._

_Thanks for reading!_

_-Celohei_

* * *

**Chapter 2 (kinda)**

[-No time skip-]

It was roughly three hours after someone brought the BAU members tea and coffee that Sakura knocked at the door. When she came in, she could see the team dispatched all over the room.

"-Miss Haruno." Welcomed Aaron.

"-Just Sakura, please. I'm younger than you. So how are you doing?

-Well, it certainly isn't an easy case but you already know that.

-Yeah… But enough about work, you had a long day. I'm here to show you to your hotel.

-Well then, we're following you."

Once outside, the BAU members could finally see where they were. Before them was a bustling pedestrian city, full of people but strangely peaceful despite the crowd. As Sakura lead the way to their hotel she explained the general lay-out of the city:

"-So, as you guess, we've just left the administrative sector of the village. Here is the market street. Your hotel is ten minutes away from here. There's a fine BBQ restaurant over there…"

As they walked by a large building, Emily asked:

"-And this, what is it?

-Oh, that's the Academy.

-Is that where you and Naruto went?

-Yeah… Aah, those were the days…

-What about your third teammate, Sai?" asked Derek.

"-He joined our unit only a few years ago. I don't know where he… studied."

A few minutes later the hotel came into view. As their entered the hall, Spencer noticed a sign on the front door. Sakura went directly to the woman at the desk.

"-It's for civilians only." Came the harsh voice of the receptionist.

Sakura sighed:

"-I know. Tsunade-sama made reservation for those four people for an undetermined period of time.

-Right." The woman's tone was more cheerful than seconds before. "I'm sorry but I only have three rooms left.

-But we booked four rooms.

-Yes, but there has been some… incident earlier this afternoon and five rooms were damaged; leaving me with only three.

-Oh. What happened?

-Ask your colleagues." the woman answered bitterly. Sakura grinned sheepishly, regretting asking her.

"-It won't be a problem." Interrupted Aaron. "Derek and Spencer will share a room, if that's ok with you?" he said, turning to the both of them.

"-Sure.

-No problem.

-Okay then. If that's ok with everyone, I'll be on my way.

-Wait. Do you know some nice place to eat?" asked Emily.

"-Of course! What do you like?

-We're not difficult.

-There's the BBQ we passed earlier or…

-BBQ's fine." Said Spencer.

"-Wanna join us?" asked Derek.

"-I wouldn't want to intrude…

-No, it's fine! "answered Emily. "Plus, it would be nice to have another girl.

-Ahah! Yeah, I can understand that, no offense.

-None taken.

-Ok so what about that: I'll let you relax and unpack your things and I come, say… in half an hour to pick you up?

-Great!"

After she left them, the team proceeded to unpack their things in their respective room.

"-Did you notice?" asked Spencer in the room he was to share with Derek.

"-Notice what?

-Well, when we entered the building, there was a sign on the door, and the woman in the hall… She insisted that this hotel was for civilians only.

-Yeah, I noticed. I don't know, Reid. Let's not worry with that for now, we had a long day and I'm starving."

Forty minutes later they were all sitting in the nice BBQ restaurant. As the time passed and their food arrived they were having a nice conversation. Emily was talking with Sakura while the three men of the team were talking between them.

"-So are you the only girl in your team?

-No. There are also JJ and Garcia but they didn't come with us this time.

-Must be nice…

-What, you're the only girl in your team?

-Yes… Don't get me wrong, I love my team. But, you know, sometimes it would be nice to have another girl I could talk to.

-Yeah, I can understand."

All of a sudden, Sakura tensed up. A man approached their table. He was tall, had wild brown hair and dark eyes. He seemed to be the same age as Sakura.

"-Sakura.

-Kiba, what is it?"

The young man looked briefly over the table. Apparently he would have preferred Sakura to be alone.

"-It's… It's Hiro. He won't come back, I'm sorry."

The BAU members watched their now silent host, wondering how she would react. Her face was surprisingly blank...

"-Who?" … as was her voice.

"-Sound" Was Kiba's answer. Anger flared in Sakura

"-Sons of bitches." Her face was now set in a mask of cold anger and determination. After a few seconds she took a deep breath. "Thanks Kiba for telling me. Do you need me?

-Shino's been hurt but nothing serious.

-Good.

-I… I have to go, I must tell Naruto.

-Don't. I will tell him. He won't be happy.

-Thanks. Well… See you later.

-Yeah, 'later."

Kiba nodded to the BAU members and left the restaurant. The silence at the table was uncomfortable. Finally Emily was the one to break it.

"-Are you all right?

-Yes.

-We're sorry. Was he someone close?

-Thank you. He was my neighbor. We weren't exactly friends but he was a nice guy. A little younger. Naruto will be pissed, though. He liked him. He sort of looked after him after his parents died last year.

-You can leave if you want, we'd understand.

-Thank you. I'll see you tomorrow if I can.

-Bye."

They watched her as she stood up and left the restaurant.

"-I hope she'll be okay" said Emily.

After that, they finished their supper in silence before going back to their hotel. They would have another long day tomorrow.

Two days later the BAU members found themselves in Tsunade's office. When they entered the office, they took notice of Naruto, silently standing in a corner of the room.

"-Good morning everyone!

-Good morning, Ma'am.

-So, have you made any progress?

-Yes. The information you gave us is very helpful. We already have a profile but since you knew the perpetrator, we are working a little differently than what we usually do. Delivering the preliminary profile wouldn't help you much. We need more time to draw a precise and detailed profile in order for it to be of any help.

-All ri-" The blonde woman cut herself midsentence. "Enter!

-Tsunade-sama." A dark haired man came into the room, a file in hand. He was wearing some kind of a military uniform. He nodded to the BAU members as he walked to the desk. He handled the file to Tsunade before taking a step back and waiting as she read what was on the first page. Her brow furrowed and she _tssk_-ed. "Damn those bastards" she mumbled. "Fine!" She straightened. "Kotetsu, you're dismissed." The man bowed and left the room. "Naruto." The young man didn't say anything but his eyes were fixed on Tsunade's. "Takara's band has acted one time too many, deal with them.

-Permanently?

-Permanently." Whereas Naruto's tone was blank, Tsunade's was somber and carried a final weight. The BAU members tried to understand what was all that about as they watch the blond man leaving the office. They noted that, contrary to the other guy – Kotetsu - Naruto didn't bow.

"-Has something bad happened?" asked Spencer.

"-Nothing that concerns you. So, where were we?

-We need a few more days to build a profile.

-All right. I won't keep you any longer, then. If you need anything, you can ask Team Kakashi. Good luck."

When they were back in their working room, for lack of a better word, Emily didn't waste any time expressing herself:

"-What the hell was that?

-It's none of our business" said Aaron.

"-I know but it was weird. Did this Kotetsu guy actually wear a military uniform?

-If that's the case, it's none of our business. We were warned that this was a special organization. We've only been in the administrative part of the building so we wouldn't know, but what if it is some sort of military compound?

-Well, that would change the whole profile" answered Spencer. There was a tense pause before Aaron spoke again.

"-We don't know. This might have been just one person.

-Hotch. You know we have to know," interjected Derek. "We can't build an accurate profile if we're not given accurate information. If the unsub, whatever his name is, since it's too classified for us to know, is part of the military we have to know." Aaron sighed.

"-I know. I'll see what I can do. Meanwhile, we keep digging in what we have. I'm well aware we don't have his complete file but let's make the best of what we do have."

The information contained in the box included more photos of the crime scene, conclusion of the autopsy of the corpses, geographical info as well as personal data of the unsub: date of birth, notes and photos from his Academy days,… As Spencer looked into what was left into the box, he found a thin blue file.

"-Guys, I think I found something."

His colleagues interrupted their works and approached him as he was reading the first page of the file.

"-What is it?

-It's… It's a psychological profile.

-What ?!

-Well, Reid, what does it say?

-It's not a regular profile.

-What do you mean?

-It was made when he was five years old," answered darkly Spencer. A few seconds of shocked silence followed his declaration.

"-Five years old? Who draws a psychological profile of a five-year old kid?

-Maybe something horrible happened…

-Wait, wait… Ah! No, apparently nothing happened. Look, here it says it's regular procedure to profile every children when he or she reaches five years old.

-Wow, that's just weird," declared Emily.

"-Okay, Reid, keep reading that profile and see if you can find anything," ordered Aaron.

Spencer didn't even answer as he was already totally absorbed by his task. The first page was the conclusion of the test. The following pages were the actual written part of the test. The oral part had been written down on the following pages. An hour later, Aaron called for a debriefing.

"-Okay, let's see what we have. Morgan?

-There's nothing weird about the autopsy. Reid was right about the weapon; the legist said the cuts are long and perfectly clean. The killer stroke with chirurgical efficiency, they were dead before realizing they were hurt. This guy knows the human body and he knows how to use his weapon.

-Emily?

-I couldn't find anything relevant about the victims or the crime scene that we didn't see before. They were apparently part of a group, a military group. The choice of the crime scene doesn't reveal anything, I'd say it happened there because the victims were there. And he didn't bother to hide the bodies, it's like he didn't even care if they were found.

-Yeah, I couldn't find anything either. Reid?

-All right. So there were three profiles in the file. The first one was drawn when the unsub was five. I didn't see anything special except for the fact that it was a child's profile. He seemed to have a normal childhood until then. He doesn't talk much about his family except for his big brother. He seems to admire him but be jealous of him, too.

-That's hardly something to worry about, normal family stuff.

-Yes, until a few years later.

-What happened?

-His entire family was killed, he was the only one to survive.

-Oh my God! Did they catch the killer?

-They didn't catch him but they know who it is. It was in a 'confidential' envelope.

-Who was it?

-His brother.

-Are you serious?

-Unfortunately. The file says that the brother slaughtered the entire family before disappearing. They never caught him. The unsub was eight. He wasn't injured but was in a coma for several days. When he woke up, he didn't speak for a whole month and was kept in the hospital. He refused to eat for the first three weeks. He was released five weeks after the massacre. He went back to school but didn't bond with his classmates. He barely spoke, only when asked a question in class.

-What about the person who took him in?

-Nothing.

-Not a word?!

-No, apparently, nobody took him in.

-What?! How is that possible? He was only eight!

-No wonder he ended up killing people.

-It's a wonder in itself that he survived his childhood, if we can call it that.

-After that, he didn't have a childhood anymore.

-You said there were several profiles. What do the others tell?

-Nothing much, he became a lonely child and everything that goes with it. His score at the Academy stayed surprisingly stable, he was the first of his class when he graduated.

-And after that?

-I don't have anything. The last test dates from when he was twelve, the day after the graduation.

-Hum. Okay. Well-" Aaron interrupted his speech when someone knocked at the door. "Come in"

Sakura entered the room and greeted everyone.

"-Hi! So how are you doi-" She fell silent as she saw the psychological profile on the desk. Her face darkened and her whole body tensed up, though it was obvious to every person in the room that she was trying to hide it.

"-Sakura? Are you all right?

-Uh? Oh, yeah, yeah.

-So, you personally knew him?" asked Derek.

"-I…" she sighed, "We went to school together. We were in the same class at the Academy.

-Really? What was he like?

-I don't like to talk about it.

-We need to know. It would help us build an accurate profile, we're sorry.

-It's ok, I understand," she sighed. She seemed to be thinking about something. Finally, she said "Come with me. I don't wanna talk about him here". Her eyes switched rapidly over the photos of the crime scene that were on the wall.

Sakura led them to a tea house. She chose a table at the back of the shop, separated from the rest of the tables by wooden panels. After ordering drinks, she kept silent for a few minutes. She was struggling on how to begin her story.

"-Sas… _He_ wasn't a killer. Sure I was young and I didn't pay attention to that kind of things. But I remember when he was young. He was always smiling when he was with his family. When his brother would come to fetch him after school, he would be the happiest little boy you could imagine. When we were six I bumped into him and his mother at a festival. I didn't recognize him. Sure he wasn't a bad kid in class, but I had never seen him smiling as broadly as that day. In class I guess he was okay. Always the best in everything but he didn't have a lot of friends, though he got along with a few kids. Then, a few months after my eighth birthday he didn't come to school for several weeks. We didn't know why. When he came back to class, he was totally different. He wouldn't speak to us anymore, merely answering the teachers. He closed himself off. He wouldn't care for the others. At that time I sort of had a crush on him, a childish love. I used to follow him everywhere. He would spend all of his free time training. The years passed by and nothing changed. He would always reject everybody, me included, even if I wouldn't see it. I understood that later, when it was already too late." She paused, drawn back in time by memories. The BAU members didn't dare shaking her out of it. They understood her need to stop for a moment. When they thought she wouldn't continue, she did. "Anyway. We graduated, him almost scoring a perfect score," she snorted, "I was the only one to outperform him in the history part of the exam. After graduation we were put on the same team together with Naruto.

-Naruto?!" Emily couldn't stop herself.

"-Yeah. The teams are made to be balanced. Sasuke being at the top of the class and Naruto being the dead last, they were put on the same team. I was put together with them to… I don't know, maybe it was so I could prevent them from killing each other or pulling the team together, I don't know. At the time, all I knew was that I was on the same team as Sa… _him_. That was all that mattered to me.

-What are these teams you're speaking about? Don't you go to high school after graduating the Academy?

-Hn? Uuh no. I guess it's a little different than what you're used to. Let's just say that it's more like an apprenticeship.

-Uh uh.

-Did Naruto and he not get along?

-Not really. They were always arguing about something. But I don't think they really meant it. Again, I didn't understand that until much later. Back then, all I was seeing was that Naruto kept bugging him and prevented us to go on a date. Gosh was I stupid. Most of the time, they would just say harsh things to each other but never really hurt the other. Kakashi made sure of that.

-Kakashi? The same Kakashi that we know?

-Yes, he already was our instructor back then. But one day things got serious. It was after the first part of an exam; we were thirteen. They fought, I couldn't stop them. Kakashi arrived a few minutes after the beginning of the fight but Naruto had already hurt Sasuke." She didn't seem to notice she had used his name several times. The others certainly wouldn't tell her: at last they could put a name on their unsub.

-Hurt?

-He broke his arm. I think Sasuke was the one to begin the fight though. When Naruto left the roof, he seemed so sad. I guess something Sasuke had said had hit home. After that incident, Kakashi was furious. He sent Naruto with another instructor for a month and left with Sasuke to train. I don't know much of what happened during that month. I was on my own and I had to prepare for the second part of the exam. Finally I guess everything seemed to settle down. After the inv… exam we went back to our routine. Sasuke was even more closed to us than before but I thought it was only because of what happened on the roof. Just after Naruto passed fourteen we went outside of the village and there were complications… We were attacked. Kakashi had been badly hurt, I had to keep the client safe so I had to stay by his side. Sasuke and Naruto had to fend for themselves and protect us. But Sasuke… I don't know what happened. I don't think Naruto knows and if he does, he'd never tell me. All I know is that all of a sudden Sasuke was down, bleeding profusely and barely conscious. His opponent was closing in for the final strike. I saw everything in slow motion. It was horrible. Kakashi, lying on the floor, Sasuke too. Blood everywhere. I couldn't move. Naruto was too far away. I have absolutely no idea of how he did it but he managed to finish off his opponent and suddenly he was there. He saved Sasuke's life. I think that was when everything began to go down. Or maybe it was even before that, I'm not sure. When Sasuke woke up, Kakashi was still in a coma. The first thing he did was to ask Naruto to fight him. Of course Naruto refused. It went like that for a few weeks: Sasuke demanding a fight from Naruto, Naruto refusing and Kakashi trying to reason with Sasuke. But one day Sasuke snapped. We should have seen it coming. It was the day of the sixth anniversary of his family's death. Kakashi was out of the village. Sasuke provoked Naruto. Badly. He knew his buttons, all he had to do was push them all. I hadn't realized he knew Naruto so well until then. After a few unsuccessful injures, he said one word. One single word. The only word capable of triggering a reaction out of Naruto. And without fail, Naruto reacted. Oh my God, he reacted. That's when my world crumbled. Sasuke and Naruto were fighting. They were fighting to _hurt_ each other, to inflict pain, both physically and mentally. I couldn't do anything. I've always been way behind them in terms of power. I couldn't bring myself to move. They were my family, protecting one would have meant hurting the other. I just couldn't. And I did well not to. I realized a few years later that I would have been killed if I had tried anything. Their fight brought them away from the village. I couldn't follow them, they were too fast. I don't know what happened. Naruto has refused to speak about it ever since. Next thing I know, Kakashi was bringing back a comatose Naruto. Sasuke was nowhere to be found. We saw him again two years later but we couldn't do anything, we just crossed each other. They… We were a family. I needed them, both of them. And I lost them both. I didn't lost Naruto the way I lost Sasuke, but he was never the same again after that. It broke him. It broke us. Even Kakashi changed. Not much; but there was a vital piece missing in our lives. Sai arrived in our team when we were eighteen." She paused again. "I don't know what happened. I mean I don't understand how everything broke. Sure we weren't a perfect team but we were a family. A family with broken members. Then we became a broken family, a broken family with broken members." She snorted. "And I thought I was in love with him… I didn't even know him." She took a deep breath and pulled herself back together. "Well, I hope that will help you. I gotta go so…" The BAU members could see she wanted to be alone or at least away from them.

"-Oh, okay, sure!

-Thank you for sharing this with us.

-Don't mention it.

-No, really, it must have been pretty hard to share your memories with perfect strangers.

-It was, but you needed it so… Anyway, I'm serious, don't mention it to Naruto, he would be furious.

-Why?

-His relation with Sasuke ran deeper than I ever imagined. What happened literally broke him. And if he was to know that I told you that, he would never forgive me.

-Okay. What about Kakashi?

-If you can find him, you can always ask. Doesn't mean he will answer you. Well, see you later!" She was out of the teashop a few seconds later.

"-Well, we got more to work on," said Derek.

"-Yep.

-Okay, Morgan and Prentiss, I want you to find Kakashi; Reid, go back to the office and review what we have. I'll be speaking with Tsunade." After paying for their drinks, they did as Aaron told.

The four of them went back together to the office building before parting ways. Emily and Derek went to ask for Kakashi's whereabouts. After asking several people without any results, they left the building.

"-So, where do we go?

-I don't know.

-Excuse me?" came a voice from behind them.

"-Yes?

-I heard you were looking for Kakashi." The man was tall and had broad shoulders. His skin seemed naturally tanned. His hair and beard were brown and shaggy. His eyes were a deep, almost-black brown.

"-Do you know where he is, Mr…?

-Asuma, Sarutobi Asuma. And no, I don't know where he is but I know where he might be.

-Could you indicate us the way?

-Well, I was heading this way so just follow me." And the trio walked by the street. "So you're the guys they invited to help, uh?" Asuma asked casually. Everything about him felt casual.

"-That would be us. I'm Derek Morgan.

-Emily Prentiss.

-Asuma. Nice to meet ya.

-So, you know Kakashi?

-Yep," answered Asuma as he lit up a cigarette, "we work together from time to time.

-Is he always that hard to find?

-Yep. That's Hatake Kakashi for you." Emily and Derek didn't know where they were heading. They hadn't been to that part of town yet.

"-Where do you think he might be?

-Dunno. Maybe in the park or at the cenotaph. At this time of the day, I'd say training ground, though.

-Training ground?

-Ah yeah, part of our job. Anyway, why are you looking for him?

-We need his help with something, ask him a few questions.

-Hm. You could always ask him… Doesn't mean he'll answer you.

-You're the second one to tell us that.

-Ahah! Lemme guess, first one was Pinkie. I ain't surprised.

-Why do you say that?

-Well, she does know him pretty well. Knows he ain't the type of guy to answer questions." They arrived at the park. Asuma led them through it. When they didn't find Kakashi, Asuma took another direction. "Training grounds it is, then.

-We don't want to keep you from what you have to do, just indicate us the way, we'll be fine.

-It's ok. I need to see him anyway so why not now? Plus I doubt you'd be able to find him without some help, no offense. He's damn hard to find when he wants to be and the training area is pretty big.

-You sure?

-Yeah, don't worry.

-Ok, thanks.

-Why wouldn't Kakashi answer us? I mean, if he knows something that could help us, why not tell us?"

Asuma looked at the sky, silent for a few moments. Then he sighed.

"-Look, I know I'm not working on this case but I know what it is about. And I know my friend. Kakashi just isn't the kinda guy who will discuss his deepest emotions with you. This… This whole stuff… It shook him pretty hard. It shook all of us. If he doesn't want to talk about it, fine, I let him be. If he needs me, I'm here and he knows it. We all have secrets, we all have scars and we all have injuries that aren't healed yet and that maybe will never heal, he more than a lot of people.

-Has something bad happened to him?

-Something bad? With Kakashi, it's easier to keep track of the good that happens to him, saves you a lot of time. To put it simply, he has a pretty shitty past. As I said, we all have scars, but Kakashi… If I had to go through half the shit that happened to him, I wouldn't be here to talk about it, if you know what I mean. I don't know how, but he's still there. If keeping everything bottled up is his way of coping, it's fine with me.

-Don't you think it'd be better to let it all out? Before he snaps?"

Asuma had a dry and empty laugh.

"-Believe me, if he's gonna snap, nothing could prevent it. I hope it never happens because the day he snaps, it won't be pretty. Ah! Almost there!" His shifting of mood almost gave a whiplash to Derek and Emily. From dark and serious, he instantaneously became cheerful. It was almost scary.

They were now out of town. Before them were large fields of grass on the left. On the right, trees blocked the view. They kept walking, passing by the trees. Before long, they arrived at an empty rocky ground. Asuma stopped at what seemed to be the entrance of the training ground. He spoke seemingly to nobody as he lit up another cigarette:

"-How you been?

-I can't hide from you, can I?

-Nope." Suddenly, Kakashi was next to the group. Emily and Derek hadn't seen him coming and so were surprised by his appearance. He looked totally different from the last time they saw him, namely the day they arrived. He was wearing the same marine cargo pants they saw on the guy in Tsunade's office, the same as Asuma's; the same deep green jacket on top of the same marine shirt. What startled them though was the mask that was covering the lower half of his face, as well as the headband that hide his left eye. On it was a symbol they couldn't decipher.

"-Yo!" Kakashi greeted with his usual laid back attitude.

"-Kakashi," said Asuma, "can I talk to you a second? Then I'll let you with our guests."

The two men took a few steps back. Emily and Derek couldn't hear what they were talking about and nothing in their body translated anything of what they thought. After a short conversation, Kakashi came back to them while Asuma waved them goodbye and walked to the opposite direction.

"-Is everything okay?

-Hm? Oh yeah, nothing special. So, you wanted to see me?

-Yes.

-We would like to ask you a few questions concerning Sasuke." At that, Kakashi tensed up.

"-Who gave you his name?

-It was in a file in the box," lied Emily, not wanting Sakura to have any trouble with her superior.

"-Hm. What do you want to know?" Asked Kakashi as he begun to walk without any direction in mind.

"-We need as much information about him as you can give us." The silver haired man stayed silent for a while before answering.

"-I'm not the one you should ask that kind of stuff.

-Who is?

-Naruto. But he will never answer you.

-That's Sakura and Asuma said about you.

-No, they probably said that I wouldn't necessarily answer your questions. Naruto _won't_ answer your questions.

-So you're gonna help us?

-I didn't say that." Emily and Derek were quite amazed by the man's capacity to effectively _not_ answer and dance around the questions.

"-Well, we won't know until we try. So, what can you tell us?" Again, Kakashi stayed silent before answering.

"-I can't tell you much but since there's no way Naruto will answer you – and that is, if you can find him – I guess I'll have to help you. What can I say? Sasuke was my student. I became the head of the squad when they were twelve. He wasn't exactly a quiet kid but he was silent most of the time. When he talked it was often to bicker with Naruto. Nothing really hurtful. They got along really well.

-Really? Sakura told us the exact opposite.

-She was just a kid. No, they were friends. Not exactly what you call a regular friendship, but they were friends like they could. They were both lonely. Sakura had her family. Naruto and Sasuke… They found themselves in each other: alone in a world that didn't care about them.

-Alone? Didn't they have anyone that looked out for them?

-No. Sakura knew that but I don't think she understood exactly what it meant until a few years ago. So Sasuke and Naruto, even if they seemed to hate each other, they were dependant of one another. Alone together, they weren't so alone anymore. But it changed. I should have seen it. They became serious in their fights. Naruto was becoming stronger, it didn't sit well with Sasuke. He blamed Naruto for a lot of things. Everything went to Hell when Naruto beat Sasuke. He was able to do it long before that, but Sasuke was his friend, he would never have hurt him. But Sasuke hurt him. I wasn't there, I don't know why they begun to fight. I arrived only after a few minutes but Naruto had already put Sasuke in his place. I kept them apart for a month. After that everything seemed to be normal again but something was amiss. Several months later, I had to leave the village for a few weeks. On my way back I found Naruto alone, badly hurt and unconscious. I brought him back to the village and then I understood. He and Sasuke had fought, seriously. And Sasuke was gone, he had left. We looked for him. We tried to understand. For several weeks if not months, everything we did was related to 'finding Sasuke'. But we never found him. Until two years later. We crossed him in a city. We couldn't stop to look for him. When we came back three days later, he was already gone. That's the last time we actually saw him.

-I don't understand. If this is the last time you saw him, how can you know he's the killer?

-We heard about him, but above all, we know him. Even if we hadn't heard of his activities, we'd know he's the killer. We would recognize his skills everywhere.

-How? His 'skills'? What do you mean?

-Ah… That I can't reveal." Kakashi fall silent. Their walk had let them back to the entrance of the village. "I believe you can find your way from here?

-Yes but we're not done.

-I am. See ya!" And with that, he left them alone. Flabbergasted Emily and Derek took the direction of their office.

"-There's something fishy about all that stuff," declared Derek.

"-Yeah! I don't know what it is but there's definitely something.

-Okay, let's go back to the others and find out what they have."


	3. Chapter 3

_Here the new chapter. It's shorter than the previous one._

_I have to say, I'm surprised by the success of this story. I was expecting a complete flop but people actually like it, so it's a nice surprise ! Thanks !_

_Enjoy !_

* * *

**Chapter 3**

[No time skip]

Twenty minutes later, they were back at the office.

"-Hey Reid!

-Hey guys!

-Hotch isn't there?

-No, he's speaking with Tsunade. Did you find something?

-Definitely." As Emily spoke with Spencer, Aaron came into the room.

"-So?" asked Derek.

"-I went to see Tsunade about the confidentiality of the case. As she says, she's well aware that it isn't easy to lead an investigation like this one, but she can't help us. We were given everything that we're cleared to see. Everything else is off limits.

-We can't exactly say it's a surprise. Our CIA hardly thrusts us enough to call us more than once. Here we're not even from the same country, can't blame them for being prudent.

-Yeah, but it doesn't help us.

-I know, Morgan, I know. So, did you find Kakashi?

-We did. We also met this guy, Asuma. Apparently he works with Kakashi from time to time. I'd say they've known each other for a long time; Asuma seemed to know him pretty well. He helped us find Kakashi.

-Apparently, Sakura was wrong. According to Kakashi, Naruto and Sasuke were friends.

-Yes, they related to the other: lonely childhood, no one to care for them. The rest of Kakashi's version matches Sakura's.

-Did you find anything else?

-This is definitely some sort of military organization.

-What make you say that?

-Asuma and Kakashi wore the same uniform as that Kotetsu guy. From what Asuma told us, training is a full part of their job and Kakashi kept referring to his team as a 'squad'.

-Do you think Sasuke was part of that too?

-Yes. First, Tsunade did tell us he was one of their agents. But Kakashi said he became head of the squad when they were twelve.

-That would be when he graduated. Are you saying that they enroll children?

-I think they do.

-Am I the only one who's shocked by that?

-No, Reid. But that's not all. Kakashi told us that it's been a few years since they last saw Sasuke. Despite that, they are absolutely sure he's the unsub. According to him, they would be able to recognize Sasuke'skills anytime.

-What skills?

-I think he was talking about his killing skills," said darkly Derek. "I don't think this is just any kind of military organization.

-Oh my God, you're right!" exclaimed Emily. "When we were in Tsunade's office this morning, she ordered Naruto to deal with some group of troublemakers. He asked her if he had to deal with them _permanently_…

-Wow, wow, wow, guys! Do you realize what you're saying is huge?

-Reid is right. You can't just accuse these people of being cold-blooded killers.

-But Hotch…

-No. We do know that this is a special organization, we were warned it was like the CIA, we did figure out that it was somehow military-based. Okay. But you would be wrong to bring it to that kind of level. Our CIA agents do have killing skills, even _we_ have killing skills, the military do have killing skills, it's part of the job. Now, we go back to our work, and deal with the case like we would a CIA case, am I clear?

-Very."

A few days later Emily and Spencer decided to go for a walk. It was still early in the evening but they were off duty for there wasn't any need to hurry on the case. They had decided to relax and enjoy the warmth of the late-spring evening. As they walked through the park to a little restaurant they wanted to try out, Emily said:

"-Did you notice how everything is quiet here?

-Yeah. There are a lot of people but surprisingly the city is pretty quiet. There isn't any noise, people don't fight… We've been here for quite some time and I've never seen anything like bar-fight or whatever.

-It's a good change from what we know, right. No cars, no trucks, no traffic, no noise, no pollution. It's like we are in the XIXth century and yet, they have phones, television, computers… It's amazing."

Soon the restaurant came into view, almost in front of one of the park entrances. It was a Japanese-style noodle restaurant. They went inside and took a seat at the counter. After ordering, they carried on their conversation.

"-I wonder though," said Spencer, "What if there is a fire or something? I didn't see any fire station and if there is no car…

-You're not from here, are you?" asked kindly the owner of the stand. "Don't worry, we have our own way of dealing with that kind of things.

-How?

-Aah. It would be quite complicated to explain… So, what do you think of our village?

-Well… It's… It's interesting, nothing like what we know, yet not that different.

-That's our home," he said proudly, "I've lived here all my life, and my parents before me. I've travelled around a bit when I was a young man, but there's nothing like Konoha.

-That's right, old man!" came a deep voice from the entrance.

"-Ah! Asuma-san! Haven't seen you in a while.

-Sorry. I've been around, you know what it's like.

-Don't worry. I'll forgive you as soon as you sit down.

-Ahah! Thanks, old man. It'll be the usual." He said as he sat down next to Spencer. "Miss Prentiss." He nodded to Emily.

"-Mr Sarutobi. This is my colleague Dr Spencer Reid.

-Sarutobi Asuma, nice to meet ya. Just call me Asuma.

-Nice to meet you.

-So, enjoying life in our wonderful village?

-As you can see. It's nice not to think about your job for a few moments.

-I know what you mean, believe me I do. I guess working as a profiler isn't easy stuff, uh?

-Not exactly." Said Emily.

"-What is it like anyway? If you don't mind me spoiling your diner.

-Not at all. Like you said, being a profiler isn't easy. You have to understand things that others don't, to anticipate what others can't even imagine, you have to see things on a daily basis that you wouldn't even want as nightmare. But worst of all, you have to think, to understand. We have not only to understand the killer, but to become him. To think like him, to anticipate his every move.

-Basically, we analyze his whole being, mentally speaking, and manipulate our own way of thinking into thinking like a killer," added Spencer. "His likes and dislikes become our own, his every needs become our own.

-What kind of person do I want to kill? Where, when? How? What do I want to do to him or her before their actual death? Will I let them die or will I play with them? Will I use a knife, acid, electricity? Will I break their mind before breaking their body? We have to feel all those things. You wouldn't believe what the human being is able to do, how twisted the mind can become.

-I think I do." Said Asuma darkly. After a few seconds, Emily answered:

"-Maybe you do."

A few minutes passed in silence. The tension was broken when Teuchi served everyone their order and they began to eat in a lighter mood. They discussed a bit more after they were done. Not long after, Emily and Spencer decided to call it a night and return to their hotel. They thanked the restaurant's owner and wished Asuma a good evening.

* * *

"- Call Otter for me, would you?

-Hai, Hokage-sama!"

A few minutes later, Otter, mask in place, was facing the chief of the village.

"- Hokage-sama " he saluted.

-"Otter. Thank you for coming this fast. I heard you had something for me.

-I do. I needed a few days to confirm the matter and confront it with the Chief's other sources, but I can report now.

-I'm listening.

-Sound is moving.

-They've been playing dirty for the past few weeks.

-Indeed, but we have confirmation that they're preparing for something big. The sources reported that they're buying good quality weapons in various villages. It took us some time to see a pattern due to the geographical spreading of their purchases. They're also more discreet, they don't go around raiding small villages like they used to.

-I see. Does Ibiki have anything?

-Not that I know of. T&amp;I has been quite frustrated by that.

-Hm. Does the Chief know about that?

-He does. And I think he's working on that, too.

-How so?

-Well, knowing him, he's probably going to find someone for Ibiki to talk to." Otter said matter-of-factly. His boss was… dedicated. And always willing to help other Konoha shinobis. He had left the day before and would probably return in a few days with a _gift_ for Ibiki, the head of the Torture and Interrogation department. Otter wasn't particularly surprised by the fact that Tsunade didn't know the Chief was gone: he was a secretive guy who seemed never to get reprehended for his liberties with the protocol. Deep down Otter thought that his boss was a scary son of a bitch. The guy was just and fair and could be nice when he wanted to, but when he was in business mode, he could be downright scary. To be fair, he had never been voluntarily scaring his subordinates but he managed his networks with an iron hand and a no-nonsense attitude that one needed some time to get used to. Otter, like his colleagues, trusted his superior with his life without question and would follow him everywhere. It was no secret. One thing he didn't hide from his colleagues either – and they agreed with him – was that their Chief, as they had nicknamed him, was someone he would never _ever_ dare to cross. He had seen the man get pissed at someone once and it had him rethink his assessment of one Morino Ibiki as a scary man.

Tsunade didn't seem surprised by the fact that one of her shinobis had left the village without her knowing and ordering it: the Chief was a special case.

"-Very well. Otter, you will tell Ibiki that I want to know everything he gets from whoever it is the Chief brings him as soon as the interrogation is over. You and your team, keep digging, I want to know exactly what Sounds is preparing, although I have a pretty good idea. If all is cleared, you're dismissed.

-Hai, Tsunade-sama!" Otter bowed and left her office.

The blonde leader closed her eyes for a moment, thinking. Although it was no surprise, the news wasn't a good one. The timing sucked. _Damn_.

"-Shizune ! Get me Shikaku!

-Hai!"

Ten minutes later, the head of the Nara clan stood before her.

"-Good afternoon, Shikaku.

-Good afternoon, Hokage-sama.

-Sit. How is everything going?

-Quite well. Three chuunins have been spotted but not by our guests so I would say so far so good. It might become trickier from next week onward. I have them hide for two weeks to test their ability to infiltrate a village on a mid-term basis, but after that, we'll have to arrange for something else.

-I know. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. In the meantime I need you on another assignment. Your son is welcomed to help, as anyone you would see fit. Here is what you have to do…"

* * *

The BAU team had been there for almost two weeks and had spent dozens of hours thinking and focusing on the information they had been given. Derek was frustrated by the lack of useful or up-to-date data and was growing restless. Emily had made a few remarks about running in circles. Spencer had been studying each and every document a dozen times in the hope of finding something he wouldn't have seen earlier, however improbable. Even Aaron had to admit he was growing quite frustrated too. They had explored the village a bit more in the hope of understanding its inhabitants better – and also because they had grown tired of their small, windowless working room. Derek had suggested calling David in but the idea had been abandoned: one more person wouldn't change the fact that they didn't have enough to build a precise, in-depth profile. Aaron had taken the matter to Tsunade two more times but to no avail. They managed to build a profile alright, but it was probably outdated and they felt that it wouldn't be sufficient to help arrest Sasuke. Aaron sighed: Derek was right, they needed more and more accurate information.

In the last week they hadn't see much of anyone. They had come across Asuma once and they thought they passed by the guy who had interrupted their meal with Sakura on their first day – was his name Kida? Kiba? They hadn't seen the pink-haired girl. Each day, someone different would bring them tea and coffee with sandwiches or snacks.

"-Ok, guys, let's take a break. We're running in circles and we need fresh air." Aaron was only answered by grunts of agreement as everyone moved to leave the room. As they made their way to the outside, Derek asked:

"-Hotch, you think we could find or ask for someplace to do sport? This thing is getting on my nerves and I need to _do_ something. Surely they have some facilities we could use?

-Probably. I'll go ask Tsunade.

-Don't bother, I got this.

-You sure?

-Yeah. Just go outside, breathe, do something. I won't be long." He then turned to Emily. "You interested?

-Not right now, but I will definitely need to let off some steam later, yeah. Thanks, Morgan.

-Sure. See you later.

-Yeah." With that, they all left the building, Emily, Spencer and Aaron on their way, and Derek heading to Tsunade's office.

A few hours later Derek and Emily were sparring against one another in what looked like a dojo. Tsunade had agreed to let them use one of the dojo in a building not far away from the academy. They had found a store where they bought sportswear (they had not brought any with them).

"-Man, that feels good!" said Emily as she stretched her legs after a short warm-up session.

"-I hear you." Answered Derek. "So, what shall we do?

-Basic hand combat?

-Let's blow some steam, baby." Derek said, grinning as he shifted his body into a fighting stance. They had let the door of the room open to let fresh air in. Emily shifted to another position, also grinning. She was the first to move. Like always. Derek was never the one to initiate the sparring fight, which didn't mean he would go easy on her. He liked sparring with Emily. Of their team, she was the only one who liked training and sports as much as he did. And he knew she was working like him and needed this to feel better when growing restless, as was the case for the past week. Their movements were fluid, proof that this wasn't the first time they trained together. Almost each blow was blocked or deflected. Both had managed to land a few blows, however. They moved from one combat style to another. Emily' style was more fluid and graceful than Derek's as she used more Oriental combat techniques. Derek used more Western combat styles but the both of them knew how to adapt their fighting to work with the other.

"-Ouch!" breathed Derek as Emily landed a strong blow to his abdomen. "Mama, that hurt!

-Oh come on, Baby Boy! Don't go crying on me now." She answered, still grinning. As they continued their spar, they didn't notice the pairs of eyes on them. Kakashi and a masked man were standing in the doorway, observing the two. Tsunade had asked Owl to observe their sparring. Kakashi had come across the ANBU as he left Tsunade's office and decided to follow him and see for himself how they fought. Obviously they would be no match for him but he had to admit that he was surprised by what he saw. They were good. Their speed was nowhere his own but that was to be expected from civilians. Even though, they would probably be a good match for a good chuunin not using chakra. Their technique was good, too. He could tell that they were using a combination of several styles and that they had mastered them, too. He didn't know the styles they were using, which was and wasn't a surprise. Both BAU agents were smiling as they exchanged blows. They weren't afraid to put quite some force in each one, knowing that it would be intercepted or that the other could take it.

"-Not bad" whispered Owl.

"-Indeed. Interesting, too.

-Yes. They're civilians, right?

-Hm.

-Not bad at all." As he finished his comment, a loud noise resounded in the room.

"-You got me, Mama!" Derek was flat on his back, Emily having him locked in an immobilizing grip.

"-One point for the girl!" Her tone was light. As they both got to their feet, Kakashi approached them, Owl nowhere to be seen.

"-Not bad!

-Kakashi! Long time no see.

-I saw you found our public facilities.

-Yeah, Tsunade was kind enough to let us use it." Emily answered. She was wearing a black, covering sport bra with black leggings. As she turned to go to her bag and take a bottle of water, Kakashi noticed an ugly scar on her lower back. When she turned back to them, handing another bottle to Derek, he noticed a bigger, matching scar on her lower abdomen. Derek seemed to notice that Kakashi saw it but neither made a remark. _That girl is strong if she survived such a wound_, Kakashi thought.

"-Maah, I was just passing in the building and heard you so I figured I could come and say hi. I didn't mean to interrupt.

-Not at all, we were finished when I wiped his ass." Joked Emily.

"-Ahah, very funny. I won't let you win next time.

-You keep telling yourself that.

-Next time?" Asked Kakashi.

"-Well yes. This case is not easy and we need to blow off some steam once in a while, you know?

-Plus we need to stay in shape.

-Hm." Kakashi reflected on that for a few seconds. "Would you like to participate in a joined training session sometime?" Emily and Derek were a bit surprised at that. "You seem to know you stuff and you just said so: you need to train. I thought we could have a joined session: you and my team. It would be nice to have new guys around.

"-Hum. Ok, sure. Morgan?

-Yeah, why not.

-I'll let you know where and when to meet, then. Well, see you around!

-See you." Derek and Emily answered at the same time. When Kakashi was out of the room, they exchanged a glance, both surprised by the proposition.

As Kakashi left the room Owl appeared beside him.

"-You were very talkative, sempai.

-Hn.

-… That didn't last long." At that, Kakashi sighed and disappeared in a swirl of leaves. Owl sighed and disappeared too: he had a report to give.


	4. Chapter 4

_Hello !_

_Here is a new chapter._

_Thanks for your patience!_

_Thanks also for your support and the reviews and everything. I greatly appreciate it! _

_I just want to remind you that this is a story I wrote a few years ago and although some reviews suggested a few changes and I can think of a few when reading it again, I will not change it. Hope you'll keep on liking it, though ^^_

_I don't know when the newt update will be._

_Enjoy!_

_xx_

* * *

**Imagine**

* * *

Aaron was seated on a bench in the park. Derek and Emily had gone training and Spencer had headed back to the hotel to take a nap. The weather was nice. Children were playing not far from him. He missed Jack. His boy had grown up faster than he anticipated. He had let him at his aunt's place. He wondered how he was doing. This case was hard to crack and the fact that he couldn't contact Jack made it even harder. As he watched the children play, he saw one climb a tree. The group of 4 children was seemingly alone: no parent was there to watch over them. But Aaron wasn't too surprised at that. The town was very quiet and peaceful, and it wasn't the first time he had seen children playing alone in the park. The children now playing in the tree seemed to be 10 years old. The boy who had climbed first was now on a branch a few meters away from the ground. Aaron suddenly stood up: the boy had slipped and was falling to the ground. As he moved to catch the boy, he realized that he wouldn't have the time to get there. To his surprise the boy landed perfectly fine on the ground, laughing with his playmates as they ran to another tree. Aaron sat back down on the bench, relieved. Something was unsettling about what he had just witnessed but he couldn't put his finger on it.

* * *

A few days later Kakashi found the BAU team in their working room. He informed them that if they were still interested, the joined training session would take place that afternoon, on training ground 23. After accepting, the BAU was told that someone would come and pick them up at their hotel twenty minutes before. And so it was that at the beginning of the afternoon, the BAU team was waiting outside of their hotel, Derek and Emily dressed for training, with their bag at their feet, and Aaron and Spencer waiting with them, wanting to watch the spar. At the programmed time, a young man came to them. It was Kiba, who they had seen only once. He was accompanied by a huge dog.

"-Hey ya!

-Good afternoon.

-You ready?

-Let's go." They headed to the training grounds. The trip there would take about 15 minutes.

The dog directly went to Derek, who asked permission to pat him.

"-Sure! He seems to like you.

-I like dogs.

-Looks like it. His name's Akamaru. I'm Kiba, by the way.

-I'm Derek Morgan. These are Emily Prentiss, Aaron Hotchner and Dr Spencer Reid.

-Doctor, huh? Well, nice to meet you officially.

-Likewise.

-So, you're gonna fight with Kakashi-sensei and Sakura, huh? Can't wait to see that!

-I thought the whole team would be there.

-Yeah, but Sai and Naruto received a mission.

-You're gonna watch?

-Of course! A lot of us will. It's not every day that Sharingan no Kakashi allows people in his training!

-Sharingan no Kakashi? I thought it was Hatake Kakashi.

-Well, yeah. Sharingan is his nickname.

-What's Sharingan?

-Ah. I can't tell you that. Which training ground is it again? I wasn't paying attention.

-23.

-Oh right, Hokage-sama had it cleared yesterday.

-Hokage?

-Tsunade-sama. She's the leader of the village. She had the training ground cleared yesterday for you guys."

At that the four members of the BAU team exchanged a curious look. Spencer remained silent during the conversation.

"-Here we go!" Kiba exclaimed a few minutes later as they indeed arrived at an open gate. On it was a large "23" under which was a notice reading _Clear – Booked_. Kiba lead them through the gate. The training ground was apparently a grassy clearing, delimited by high fences. They could see a group of people standing near the fence. As they neared, they saw that it was Kakashi, Sakura, Asuma and two more people they didn't know.

"-Good afternoon." Greeted Aaron.

"-Ah ! Good afternoon, how are you? "asked Sakura.

"-Yo!" saluted Kakashi.

"-What's up?" said Asuma.

"-We're fine, thanks, what about you all?

-Good, good." Answered Asuma. Sakura was the next to speak.

"-So, you apparently already know Asuma-sensei. This is Shiranui Genma" she said pointing to a brown-haired guy with a deep blue bandana and a skewer in his mouth. "And this is Nara Shikamaru. They're here to watch." Shikamaru seemed to be tall but he was seated on the ground, against the fence so it was hard to tell. He had kind of long black hair tied in a high ponytail. He was smoking. Genma, Asuma and Shikamaru were all wearing the same uniform. Kiba's jacket was black instead of green but otherwise it was the same. Kakashi was wearing large black pants and a tight black shirt which also covered the lower half of his face. Sakura was wearing a pink sleeveless shirt with black shorts under a short white skirt.

"-You ready?" Kakashi asked to Emily and Derek.

"-Ready whenever you are.

-Ok. So I propose a simple two-on-two: Sakura and I against you two. We can change after that.

-Ok.

-Sounds good.

-Man, this is so exciting!" said Kiba. "Don't underestimate Sakura, she's got a mean right!" At that, Spencer reacted, surprisingly.

"-Really? But she's so small.

-Oh, Pinky's small alright." Answered Genma. "But she packs one hell of a punch." Asuma smirked and Kiba growled, apparently having been on the receiving end of said punch, which made Asuma laugh.

"-Not funny.

-Oh yeah, it is.

-You've obviously never been her punching bag, Asuma-sensei.

-Nope, and I plan to keep it that way." The tall man answered, lighting up a cigarette.

"-How old is she?" Asked Spencer.

"-24, like me and Shikamaru.

"-That's young" noted Aaron.

"-Not really…

-They're about to start." Interrupted Genma, making the spectators focus on Derek, Emily, Sakura and Kakashi.

"-Ready? Let's begin!"

At first, the blows were testing. Then they became more focused, stronger and faster. Emily and Derek worked very well together, but Kakashi's and Sakura's defenses were flawless. After a few minutes, Derek and Emily took a few steps back, still facing their opponents. They exchanged a glance and then resumed fighting. They changed their style. After five minutes, Derek feinted, which allowed Emily to get past Sakura's defense and landed a blow to her abdomen. The young woman rolled on herself and got back to her feet a few feet away from Emily. Both women were grinning. Genma whistled.

"-Phew! Nice one!

-Nice teamwork!

-You ok?" Emily asked Sakura.

"-I'm fine, don't worry. I've had far worse. Let's continue."

As the spar resumed, the shinobis of Konoha were surprised at how well Derek and Emily managed against Kakashi and Sakura. The BAU members were also surprised by Kakashi and Sakura. They could tell that they had been working together for a long time: their dynamic was perfect and flawless. They had a great mastery of several Oriental_ish_ fighting styles. Emily was ecstatic to spar with someone as skilled in martial arts. Derek was a good fighter but his style was totally different. This, in turn, helped them score a few points as Kakashi and Sakura didn't seem to be familiar with his fighting style. The spar went on, blows were exchanged, accompanied by exclamations and comments from the spectators. Half an hour later, the fighters took a break to drink. After a few minutes they resumed their spar but changed the teams: men versus women. The fight was a bit messier as each team needed to find a new balance but eventually it went more fluidly. Sakura and Emily were having a great time and worked really well together. Kakashi and Derek also worked well together but not as much: their styles weren't as complementary as the girls'. After fifteen minutes, teams changed once more with Kakashi and Emily up against the other two. There again a few minutes were needed before finding the good rhythm. The fight was also very interesting and the teams seemed to work better than the previous round. Slowly the four fell back on their original formation.

"-They're holding back." Spencer whispered. Genma, Asuma, Kiba and Shikamaru looked at him, surprised.

"-Reid?" asked Aaron.

"-Kakashi and Sakura. They're holding back.

-How can you tell?

-Their muscles are strained and they make small movements reflexively that they stop." The four Konoha shinobis stared for a few seconds and then exchanged a furtive glance. Kakashi and Sakura were indeed holding back. Of course they were. But they were surprised that Spencer had caught up on it.

"-You're observant." Noted Asuma.

"-I am. And I have an eidetic memory so I can see their moves even if it doesn't register right away." _That_ had Shikamaru staring at him.

Kakashi, Sakura, Emily and Derek were still fighting. Kiba tensed and turned his head to the entrance of the training ground. The others did the same. A tall, masked figure was walking toward them. The figure – for neither Spencer nor Aaron could tell if it was a man or a woman – was wearing black pants and a white piece of… was that armor? He/she also had pieces of white metal on his/her arms up to the elbow. As the figure got closer, they could see it was a man wearing a stylized heron porcelain mask. Genma, Kiba, Shikamaru and Asuma tensed.

"-What is it?" Asuma asked darkly. The figure didn't answer. He turned and walked to the fighters, still exchanging blows. When he was close, the fight stopped. The masked man got down on one knee, opposing fist on the ground, head down in front of Sakura, who tensed. The man then rose his other hand to her, presenting her with something.

"-Troublesome.

-Not good." Whispered Kiba as Akamaru whimpered.

Sakura paled and raised a trembling hand to take what was presented to her. It seemed to be a black ribbon with a metal slab on it.

"-Asuma." Came the suddenly stern voice of Kakashi.

"-Got them." Asuma then walked up to Emily and Derek. "Come." The three of them walked back to the other visitors, still watching Sakura. The faces of Genma, Shikamaru – who was standing up – and Kiba were stern.

Sakura's head was down. "Who?" The sound was barely audible. The masked man, still on the ground, answered "Sound." Her fist clenched on the ribbon. "Thank you". The man rose to his feet and walked back out of the training ground.

"-Man, that sucks."

The BAU team didn't understand what was happening but had an idea so they didn't dare to speak. Kakashi walked to Sakura, still head down. He slowly took her hand in his and took the ribbon from her. He threw it to Kiba, who caught it deftly.

"-Oh man." His voice was weak.

"-Who?" asked Shikamaru.

"-This is Ren's headband.

-Oh. Troublesome.

-Poor Pinky.

-Excuse me but who is Ren?" asked Emily, not liking where this was going.

"-Ren _was_ Sakura's boyfriend.

-Man, that sucks! And within two weeks of Hiro!

-Will she be ok?" No one answered Derek. After a few second, Asuma's voice rose, dark and serious.

"-What you're about to witness you will not comprehend. You shouldn't be here to witness it but we are not leaving so you're not either. Whatever happens, stay where you are. Do not intervene. And follow our orders, no questions asked.

-What's going to happen?

-Pinky is going to let it out. And we're staying to help them if they need it. But you do not intervene, am I clear?" Asuma's voice was dead serious and commanding. Seeing the four men around them standing at attention, their eyes on Kakashi and Sakura, the BAU team was lost as to what was going to happen. "Am I clear?" Asuma repeated.

"-Yes." Answered Aaron, sternly. He looked at Spencer, Derek and Emily to make them understand that they were to obey the bearded man. Then all four of them looked at Kakashi and Sakura.

Kakashi had heard Asuma warn the BAU. He was still next to Sakura, who still had her head down. The hand from which he had taken the headband was trembling. Slowly she stopped trembling and closed her hand in a fist. Kakashi tensed and jumped back a few steps. Sakura raised her head and launched at Kakashi, fist prepared. Kakashi was on the defensive, having anticipated her reaction. The BAU members' eyes widened. One moment Sakura was standing with her head down, the other she was next to Kakashi, her left fist on the ground. A fraction of a second later the ground exploded into rubble. She twisted her body to punch Kakashi, who was now behind her. He managed to dodge. For the next few minutes, Kakashi dodged punches and rocks as Sakura came at him again and again, sometimes landing a strong blow. They were moving too fast for the BAU to see them clearly. They didn't understand what was really happening. How was such a thing possible? How could someone move so fast? How could a girl make to ground explode with her bare fists? How could one take such blows without being knocked out?

"-Sakura…" Kakashi tried to calm her down, still on the defensive. But the pink-haired young woman kept coming at him viciously. The BAU managed to see that she had a purple diamond on her forehead which had not been there previously.

"-This is not good." Noted Kiba.

"-What the hell?!" Emily and Derek had finally snapped out of their surprise and were now watching the Konoha men and vocally expressing their surprise.

"-We will accompany you to Tsunade's office when this is all over, but no question now.

-No question now? What the hell is happening? Like hell I'm gonna wait until this is over! What is _this_ anyway, huh?

-Derek, enough.

-Hotch! You can't expect me to shut up about this!

-I can. Now is clearly not the time."

Derek's outburst had distracted Kakashi, who took Sakura's right hook to the jaw and came tumbling down next to the observing group.

"-Ouch!" Commented Genma. "That's gotta hurt. Sucks to be you, man.

-Shut it." Kakashi's voice was like the clash of a whip. "All right, that's it." He launched himself back at Sakura, fist ready to punch. She dodged but was swiped by his leg as he continued his movement. She somersaulted back and regained her footing before attacking him again. This time, Kakashi was attacking back. The blows and movements were fast. Punches and kicks were thrown with force. The ground was exploding here and there. At one point the _clink_ of metal hitting metal could be heard. The BAU, unlike the Konoha shinobi at their side, couldn't follow the movements. They only saw glimpses of movement right, left and center, and saw the ground erupt wherever movement happened. They could hear the metallic noise of weapons clashing. The four men and the dog beside them were standing at attention, watching the fight and following the movements with attentive and appreciative eyes. Genma and Asuma were used to seeing Kakashi fight. Shikamaru had no opinion, or rather, kept it to himself. But Kiba was quite vocal.

"-Man, it sucks real bad for Sakura, don't get me wrong, but boy, this is something to witness. Sharingan no Hatake Kakashi with Kagayaku Ken no Haruno Sakura. This team is in a league all by themselves.

-Kagayaku Ken?" asked Aaron. It was Spencer who answered, to the surprise of the Konoha men.

"-Sakura Haruno of the Glowing Fist. Why glowing fist?

-Observe her closely." Was the enigmatic answer of Asuma.

The BAU members focused on her as she and Kakashi weren't moving so fast for the moment. To their astonishment, they could see that her fists glowed in a light green halo. Her right hand was holding a dagger-like weapon. Both she and Kakashi had cuts and bruises. They were bleeding in several places but didn't seem to notice it. Sakura punched the ground, dislodging a large boulder. She kicked it in Kakashi's direction. He kicked it out of the way but unfortunately the huge piece of rock was coming straight at the spectators. In swift movements, Genma's hand went through seals. He pressed them against the ground, from which a wall grew. The boulder came crashing on the wall of earth.

"-Watch it!" He screamed at Kakashi.

When the wall retracted into the ground – by which time the BAU were persuaded to be seriously ill and hallucinating – they all could see that Sakura and Kakashi were running toward one another, both ready to strike. Sakura was still holding her weapon in her right hand. As she moved to strike Kakashi with it he blocked her with his left hand, firmly holding her wrist. She used her momentum and moved her body to attack the silver-haired man with her left fist, glowing green. Her face was distorted in an angry grimace. The sound of birds chirping could be heard as Kakashi prepared to strike her with his left hand, his right still holding her arm. His left hand was surrounded by a white, thunderbolt-like light. **[AN]** As both their fists collided, the white light and the green glow mixed in a big thunderbolt, sending lightning all around them. When the light vanished, all could see that Kakashi was holding Sakura's hand. The pink-haired girl struggled for a few seconds but seemed subdued. Kakashi didn't let go.

"-Sakura…

-No!

-Sakura" His voice was deep and slow, and soothing.

"-No! No! No.

-Hush now, Sakura."

She kept saying "no" but each time was less vehement, less angry. Her struggle ceased and she slowly crumbled to the ground. Kakashi didn't let go. He knelt with her. A _clink_ could be heard as she let go of her weapon.

"-No, no, no, no." Her voice was now barely audible. Kakashi didn't let go. He slowly released her wrists but didn't let go of her. He wrapped his arms around her as she burst into tears, sobs shaking her body. Akamaru whimpered. Kakashi discreetly signed to Asuma, still holding Sakura. Kiba left Ren's headband on the ground, where he knew Kakashi or Sakura would find it.

"-All right, let's give'em some peace." The eight spectators and Akamaru slowly left the training ground, accompanied by the sounds of Sakura crying.

"-Is she going to be ok?" Spencer's voice was low, laced with genuine worry.

"-She's strong.

-She seems to have taken it pretty hard." Noted Emily.

"-It is a hard blow. Ren was a sweet guy. He was good at his job. It's a nasty surprise." Genma explained. "But she'll manage. Besides, Kakashi's with her.

-Will that really help?" There were a few minutes of hesitant silence before Shikamaru spoke, surprising the BAU team, as he had stayed silent all along.

"-Sakura's a strong woman. She may not look like it but she has lived through some hard things. We all did. She came out of everything ok. This might be a hard blow, with Ren being her boyfriend and everything, but sadly, this is not the hardest she's ever had to take. As long as she has her team, I know she will be fine. She's one of the strongest people I know, both physically and mentally. Plus, like Genma pointed out, Kakashi's with her. He already helped her get to the point of crying, which is no small feat. She will be fine.

-I know you don't understand what happened," said Asuma, "and it's normal. We're heading to Tsunade-sama's office and she will talk you through this. But you have to know that this… this village… we… we don't function like you. Our teams are everything to us – don't interrupt me, please, you will understand. I know and I understand that your team is important for you and I don't deny it. But here, you might have gathered that we are placed in teams early. Usually after graduation, so around 12. Although that can vary. We grow up in team. One's team usually becomes one's family. The bonds created in a team are deep and strong in most cases. So as long as one has one's teammates, it should be ok. But you have to understand that Team 7… How to explain? Team 7's dynamic is different. They had to go through something difficult.

-We are aware of what happened.

-Really? Hum. Then you should understand that the loss of Ren, however tragic, was not the worst thing that Sakura had to go through.

-Sasuke.

-Yeah. The loss of Sasuke shook them. It hurt them deep. The loss of a teammate is something terrible. I should know, I lost one last year." At that, Shikamaru shot Asuma a dark glare, which didn't go unnoticed.

"-You were a team." It wasn't a question.

"-Still are. But Shikamaru and I we lost our teammate. Since then, we haven't done a lot as a team. The last member of our squad took it hard too. Kakashi's team… When Sasuke left, instead of drifting apart like it sometimes happens, they grew closer. They became more than a family. They became something that is not often seen. Even now, after years of working with Kakashi and sometimes with the others too, I still don't fully understand their bond. This is highly personal but understand that what Sakura had with Ren, even if it was nice and serious, is nothing compared to what she has with Kakashi and Naruto.

-And Sai?

-Sai too. Team 7 is special on a lot of levels. I am sad for my teammate and I am sad that my team is not working together as much as before. But we manage. We're still a team and a family no matter what and I wouldn't want it any other way except for Choji being here with us. I love my team and I am lucky that we haven't drifted apart. But I'm going to be honest with you: Team 7 scares me.

-Why?" It was Kiba who answered Emily's question.

"-Because they will die." His tone was dark, thoughtful. "I have a great team and I would do anything for them, even die for them. For Hinata, for Shino, for Akamaru and for Kurenai-sensei. I would die to protect them. But Team 7, I don't know. There's something beautiful in watching them. They're magnificent. Watching them together is… There's no word for it. When they fight, all four of them together, it gives me goosebumps. But there is just something. I would die for my team. They _live_ for their team.

-What do you mean? How is this a bad thing?

-It's not necessarily a bad thing but it's like a storm, a hurricane. They live for one another. As long as they have each other, they can take on everything. But they will die as a team. They wouldn't be able to go on without one of its members.

-But Sasuke's gone.

-Gone, but not dead. The day one of Team 7 dies is the day we lose all of them. And that's a scary thought." The atmosphere, as they walked in the street, was gloomy.

"-They will go with one hell of a bang, though." Genma noted in an effort to lift the atmosphere. It had the desired effect as Shikamaru snorted, Asuma chuckled and Kiba laughed. Even Akamaru barked his agreement.

"-Yeah, that will be something to behold.

-From afar.

-Ahah, yeah, from afar!" After a few minutes of total silence (light for the Konoha men, thoughtful for the BAU), Genma asked "Do you need me?

-Nah, 'm good." Answered Asuma. "You can all go, I'll go with'em." In yet another instance of his fast-changing mood. It was interesting to witness the change in his speech pattern depending on his mood.

"-Well then, see you guys around!

-See ya!" Both Genma and Kiba waved them goodbye as they took another road, Akamaru following them before the men went each on their own way.

"-See you later, sensei. I'll be at Ino's.

-'K." Shikamaru also left them.

"-All right, we'll get to the Hokage Tower in 5 minutes."

* * *

**AN**: this scene was inspired by Janey Jane's fanart "Kakashi and Sakura Sparring" on DeviantArt. I don't think this is exactly what she had in mind when she drew it but the scene is what came to my mind when I saw the drawing. You should totally check her gallery, it's awesome!


	5. Not a chapter - Sorry!

Hello, people!

I'm sorry but this is NOT a chapter. I know, I know. Sorry. I promised you a quick update and nada!

The thing is that since graduating I've been terribly busy. Way more than I anticipated. As a result, I've been completely unable to write anything, although ideas kept swimming around in my mind.

I will not be able to update for several more weeks, maybe even a couple of months. In a few days, I'll be going backpacking through Asia for one month and then I'm moving to the other side of the planet. So all in all, counting the time to settle down and find a job and all that jazz, I'll probably be completely off the grid (at least FF's grid) for a couple months.

So I'll ask you to be patient.

I am NOT abandoning any of my stories, I love them way too much! And I promise an extra long chapter the next time I update as a way of making it up to you, dear readers! Maybe even two chapters!

Thanks for your patience and see you maybe in December! ;)

Celohei


	6. Chapter 5

_Hello, people!_

_I know, long time no see._

_Good news: this IS a chapter! _

_Bad news for thos who also read my other stories: Imagine is the only one which is going to be updated for the moment. The reason is simple: I wrote this story years ago so I only have to proofread it before posting it. It's not the case for my other stories, which I have to write. _

_Quick reminder: this story was written years ago so I'm not changing anything about (except the typos), including the plot or the rythm. Thank y'all for your constructive criticism though! I do pay attention to it but I will not act on it for this particular story._

_This chapter is rather slow but... well, I just explained myself so... ^^_

_See you soon! (hopefully)_

* * *

**Imagine - chap 5**

_[Quick reminder: the BAU team just got their minds blown when Sakura snapped upon learning the death of her BF. They're now heading to tsunade's office with Asuma to get sorted out and hopefully remain sane :p ]_

"-All right. Wait here while I explain the situation." Asuma knocked on the door and entered after a strong "Come in!" He closed the door behind him, letting the BAU team in the waiting room adjacent to the Hokage's office. Usually Derek would have made a remark and demanded explanations but not this time. This time, the members of the BAU were too lost to say anything, Derek included. On the other side of the door Asuma was facing Tsunade.

"-What is it?

-We have a problem.

-It has to do with our guests.

-Yes.

-Something happened during the training session? Was there a trap left?

-No, the field was cleaned perfectly. Something did happen when the session was almost over, though.

-Explain.

-I guess you're already aware that Hagano Ren is dead…

-I received the news this morning. I'll tell Sakura later today.

-That won't be necessary."

Tsunade's eyes widened slightly and she swore under her breath.

"-I think I know what happened then. But still, explain everything. From the start.

-Well, I arrived there with Kakashi. Sakura arrived a few minutes later, followed by Shikamaru and Genma. Everything was fine. We waited for Kiba to bring them, which he did apparently without offending any of them, I will add. The four of them were there but only Derek Morgan and Emily Prentiss participated in the spar. Everything went smoothly. They're actually quite good. They managed to land a few blows and did not take too many of them either. Interesting fighting style. Morgan's more of a brawler but he is actually really good and doesn't waste opportunities and energy. The girl' style is closer to our fighting style. She knows several martial arts similar to what we know. They have good teamwork but I think they're the best fighters of their team. After some time the teams changed. The girls teamed up against the men. Then Kakashi teamed up with Prentiss. I could give you a more detailed assessment of their skills but I think Kakashi is more suited than me for that. After a while they went back to the original formation. That's when shit hit the fan. Heron came and salute-presented Ren's headband to Sakura." Tsunade's brows furrowed. "Kakashi had me retrieve them. He stayed with Sakura. We decided not to leave in order to help them if she took it too far.

-So they saw everything?

-Yeah.

-How bad was it?

-Not as bad as I thought it would be. Had I known I would have evacuated them but Inuzuka said something about another kid. It sounded bad so we didn't know how she would react.

-Sound got Sakura's neighbor ten days ago." Tsunade then stayed silent for a few minutes.

"-Sorry for the mess, Hokage-sama." Asuma apologized, in a rare instance of genuine respect.

"-Well, it's done now. No need to cry over spilled milk. How far did it go?

-As I said, I thought it was gonna be worse. She dropped the genjutsu hiding her seal. They moved fast. She messed up the field pretty bad. Landed a nasty hook on Kakashi's jaw. It might be broken, by the way. She used her glowing fist and a kunai. Kakashi had to fight back. Genma had to use an earth wall to block a boulder, so there's that too. And Kakashi had to use his Chidori to block her fist… That's about it.

-_That's about it_? That's all you have to say, Sarutobi?" Her tone was angry.

"-Well…

-Don't "well" me! This is bigger than I thought! We could have had a Yamanaka erasing a few minutes if it had just been a slip-up, but this…" She sighed. "Well, time for some damage control. Let them in."

Before moving to the door, Asuma asked, serious:

"-Are you mad at her?

-No. I'm sad for her. They were thinking about moving in together…" The Hokage replied in a low and calm voice. Asuma moved to the door. Before opening it he slipped one last remark.

"-Oh ! And the kid saw they were holding back. Eidetic memory. Just so you know." He finished with a note of humor. He then opened the door and signaled for the BAU to come in.

"-Out!" Tsunade screamed at him. "And don't think you and your pals are off the hook!" Asuma's shoulders sagged as he closed the door behind him. Inside her office Tsunade was watching the four men team in front of her. She sighed once more. "You might as well sit, this is gonna take a while." The BAU each grabbed a chair lined up against the wall and sat in front of her desk. "I guess you have questions so shoot."

The quatuor stayed silent, not knowing where to begin. It was Emily who opened the conversation after a moment of hesitation.

"-Did we… Did we hallucinate or something?" Tsunade snorted.

"-I guess this is a good and legitimate question to ask. Not one I expected but a valid one. No, unfortunately you didn't hallucinate. What you saw was real.

-How?" This time it was Spencer who asked.

"-This is going to be fun." The blond woman said in a whisper. "Where to begin? Okay, what do you know about chakra?

-Chakra is energy?" Supplied Emily, tentatively, almost as a question.

"-Chakra is the circulation of spiritual energy in the body. Hinduists believe that there are 7 pools of chakra in the body, distributed along its vertical axis. Each pool is linked to a physiological function, an emotion and a cosmic disposition. One has to find the balance between the 7 pools to be at peace and be able to access the immaterial world. It is often achieved through meditation." Proposed Spencer in a long lone breath.

"-Hm. I see. Interesting. So there are people aware of chakra but with a different notion of it. Fascinating." The head of the village did sound interested indeed. "Here, it is slightly different. Chakra is indeed spiritual energy but only partly. It is actually the combination of the physical and spiritual energy circulating in one's body. Its distribution in the body is different: it circulates in all the body. By manipulating their chakra shinobis can manipulate their body and the elements around them. They can actively use this energy and direct it outside of their body.

-What is a shinobi?

-A shinobi is a ninja who fights for his village. So I should rather say that ninjas are able to manipulate and use their chakra, not only shinobis. **[A/N]**

-Excuse me, but ninjas?! Are we being serious?! Ninjas are stories for children and bad movies." Derek interjected.

"-I can understand that this is difficult to grasp but I assure you that ninjas are real." Tsunade answered, refraining from laughing.

"-What, black wearing, cat-like masked figures lurking in the dark? Come on.

-That's a little diminutive and could be offending but yes, we do such things." That earned her a solid three minutes of incredulous silence. Obviously this Tsunade had lost her marbles and had gone completely coocoo.

"-I can see that you're not convinced." That was the understatement of the year. "I can understand. But how would you then explained what you saw?

-Severe dehydration and lack of sugar. Sparkled with a nice fever.

-All four of you?

-Doesn't seem so far-fetched compared to your explanation.

-Hm. Point taken. But don't forget who you're talking to, young man. Show some respect." As much as she was amused by the situation, she still was used to more respect than that, and expected such.

"-And who are you, exactly?"

Tsunade seemed to consider Derek's question, which reminded her that these people actually _didn't_ know who she was and had no idea how disrespectful they had been.

"-I am Senju Tsunade, Fifth Hokage of Konoha of the Land of Fire. I am the Slug Princess of the Sannin and the best medic in the world. My grandfather," she pointed at a picture on the wall behind them, "was Senju Hashirama, founder and First Hokage of Konoha.

-So, you're like royalty?

-Yes. Let me explain. The land is divided into several countries. The biggest ones are the five Great Nations: Fire/Hi, Water/Mizu, Earth/Tsuchi, Wind/Kaze and Lightning/Kamimari. Each great nation has a daimyo; he is the head of the political power. Some smaller nations also have one but not necessarily. Each great nation and some smaller ones have what is called a "hidden village": Konoha for Fire, Kiri for Water, Suna for Wind, Kumo for Lightning and Iwa for Earth. Some small nations only have a hidden village without having a daimyo. The hidden villages are ninja villages. The Kage are the head of these villages. I am the Hokage, the current head of Konoha, until I die or retire. In other words I am the head of the military power. My "colleagues" are the Kazekage, Raikage, Mizukage and Tsuchikage. Hidden villages are quite independent from the political power of their country but diving in that particular topic would take forever and give me a headache so we're not going there. Any question so far?

-Tons.

-So everyone living here is a ninja?" Asked Aaron before Spencer could start asking the dozens of questions he surely had.

"-No. A good portion of the population is civilian. Actually you probably haven't seen any ninja with the exception of those you saw this morning.

-So Sakura and her team are ninjas?

-They are.

-Wait, wait, wait. I'm still processing the ninja thing," interrupted Derek, "Care to enlighten us? What _is_ a ninja?

-Like I said, a ninja is someone who can manipulate chakra. But not only. I actually have a ninja who is completely unable to do so. Ninja… We learn, we train, we fight and we live for our village and our country.

-So you're soldiers?

-You could say that but it doesn't cover it all.

-Is there a war going on?" asked Aaron.

"-Not for the moment, but there is always something to fight for and missions to carry out.

-Missions?

-People come to hidden villages to seek help on matters they can't handle themselves. They pay us and we carry out these matters for them.

-What kind of matters?" Asked Derek, suspiciously.

"-Transport of merchandize or of documents, escort, bodyguard, among other things.

-Among other things, uh?

-You're government, I'm sure you can understand why I don't tell you everything." There were tense, silent seconds ticking. Emily, who had stayed silent for the most part, broke the awkwardness.

"-I have a question. Was what we saw the result of chakra manipulation?

-It was.

-How is it possible? I mean, you explained already but I still don't understand how such a thing is possible. How could Sakura move so fast and destroy the ground? And what was the light?

-Hm. Explaining chakra theory would take too long and I can't explain to you the working of Sakura's or Kakashi's techniques. Let's just say that this is the kind of stuff that is highly confidential, I'm sorry. And it would be a betrayal from my part to reveal how their body works."

Aaron straightened as he remembered what he saw in the park.

"-The other day I saw children playing in the park. One of them fell from a tree. I thought he was going to hurt himself but he landed just fine. Is that chakra too?

-No. Young children usually can't use chakra. Their body isn't fully formed and they can't access it yet. Or if they can they wouldn't be able to handle it." Aaron frowned, not entirely convinced: the child _should_ have hurt himself, logically speaking. Seeing this Tsunade continued her explanation. "Children can't use chakra but they are training their body to be able to do so in the future. You have to understand that life as a shinobi is hard, both on the body and on the mind. The body goes under a lot of stress and has to be able to take it. When growing up, future ninja push their body to acclimate and adapt.

-You're breeding them?!

-No! We do not breed them!" Her voice was angry. "Enrolling in the Academy is a choice, both personal and of the parents. The Academy starts at the same age as the civilian school. Not all Academy students graduate. Actually a lot of them switch to the civilian school. But those who stay in the Academy have to fortify their body." That seemed to arouse Spencer's interest and curiosity. He wasted no time in asking a few questions.

"-How come? How can a body be fortified to the point where it can handle a lot more stress than normally? Do they have special treatments?

-Slow down. This is not how I planned my day. Children aiming to be ninja fortify their body and their senses through games mostly. Most of these games are regular children games like hide-and-seek or tag. The difference is that the limits and the rules are changed. The constant exercise forces their bones and muscles to develop more densely, providing them with increased stamina, endurance and energy, which in turn builds their reserves of chakra. Not everyone develops the same way, admittedly.

-Do they require more vitamins?

-Usually yes. Ninja tend to eat more than civilians. Healthier food, too.

-Do…

-I'm sorry but we can't continue. I have a busy schedule and I can see that you still have a lot of questions. Unfortunately I can't give you more of my time. I propose you this. Take the rest of the day off. Go back to your hotel, go to the bath-house, go to the park or to a restaurant. Relax. Eventually think about our discussion and about questions you would like to ask. If necessary I will arrange for someone to talk with you in the following days.

-Thank you, Tsunade." Said Aaron. "In light of what we just learnt, though, I'm sure you understand that our profile is highly inaccurate. We would need more information to build a better profile."

Tsunade looked him in the eyes for a few seconds.

"-I understand. I'll see what I can do. But understand that the situation hasn't changed: this is still highly classified information you're asking for. I'm not sure I will be able to give you more than you already have, regardless of what happened today and what you learnt.

-I understand. Thank you.

-Have a nice evening."

The BAU team left her office and walked to their hotel in a silent, incredulous daze.

* * *

Breakfast was silent. The evening had been silent. The BAU team, after their meeting with Tsunade, had been too shocked to say anything. They hadn't digested yet what the blond woman had told them – about chakra, ninjas and whatnots. In fact, they were more and more convinced that the woman was playing a joke on them. A bad one at that, too. They hadn't spoken about it because doing so would be like acknowledging what had been said, which just couldn't be real. Of course the fact that they might be in denial wasn't lost on them. They _were_ experts in psychology after all. But seriously, how can all this be real? Surely, Tsunade had been bored out of her mind and decided to have some fun. Yet, there was this slightly disturbing thing they had witnessed. They had gone to sleep in silence. And now they were in the dining room of the hostel, eating breakfast in silence and mentally preparing themselves for another day of fruitless reflection about the case and being made fun of. As they were finishing eating, the owner came to them.

"-Someone asks for you.

-Ok?

-He's not coming in. I don't want any of them inside. You'll have to meet him outside of my hostel." She left them with that. They exchanged a look, wondering about this awkward message.

Outside a man with what they had come to view as the official uniform was waiting for them.

"-Good morning?

-Ah ! Good morning. Tsunade-sama sent me. She told me to tell you that she knew you weren't convinced, whatever that means. So she sent me. I'm Izumo, by the way. I'm to take you to the Academy and arrange for a tour. Is that okay with you?" After a few seconds and curious glances, Aaron answered.

"-I guess it is. We're following you."

The walk to the Academy was quiet. The group went directly inside, guided by Izumo, and up to the first floor. The doors to the classrooms were closed and everything was quiet in the wooden hallway. Izumo had them waiting as he went in a classroom. He came back after a few minutes, followed by another man in the same uniform. He had a scar on his nose.

"-This is Umino Iruka. He's a teacher. He's agreed to give you a tour of sort.

-Good morning.

-Good morning.

-Ok, now that everything's settled, I have to go. I have work to do." Izumo turned to the BAU members. "Enjoy your day," and then to Iruka, "see you around, Umino." After he left, Iruka spoke.

"-I'm Umino Iruka, nice to meet you.

-I'm SSA Aaron Hotchner. This is SSA Emily Prentiss, Derek Morgan, and Dr Spencer Reid. Nice to meet you.

-From what he told me Tsunade-sama wants me to show you around so you understand how the Academy works. Unfortunately, on such a short notice, I won't be able to find a replacement so I can't leave the classroom. I can propose you two things, however. You can either leave and do what you have to do this morning. I should be able to find someone to take over my class this afternoon by lunch so I would be able to give you a tour then. Or you can stay and attend the morning classes and decide what to do after lunch: attend the classes, leave or have me give you a tour. The choice is yours." The BAU team hesitated a bit, which didn't go unnoticed. "I'm teaching the highest grades so I think you might find the classes interesting. But I would understand if you'd prefer coming back this afternoon. Like I said, the choice is yours."

After a few glances Aaron spoke for the group.

"-I think we're going to attend. This might be interesting indeed.

-Great! Come with me." The teacher led them in the class. To their surprise they entered a regular-looking classroom, with fifteen or so regular-looking children. The children, who had been talking among themselves before the group entered, were now silently staring at the unknown adults before them.

"-Good morning, class!

-Good morning, Iruka-sensei." They all answered at the same time.

"-This morning, as you can see, we have special guests with us. These are Ms Prentiss, and Mr Hotchner, Morgan and Reid. They will be staying with us for the morning class so please be polite. And don't worry, they're not going to judge you. They are here to observe how our Academy works so don't mind them and be yourself." He then turned to the guests. "You can go and sit at the back of the class, if you don't mind.

-All right." The eyes of all the children followed them as they moved to the back of the class and took a seat. The last few rows were unoccupied, indicating that some classes had more students than this one. When they were all seated, the children kept looking at them until Iruka started to speak again.

"-Kids! Pay attention." They all turned back to him and the front of the class. "Since we hadn't started today's class yet, I'm going to change the program. Instead of focusing on one subject for the whole morning like we did yesterday, we're going to have a general review session. We'll go back on a few topics we already saw and we'll see a few new things, too. That way our guests can have a good idea of what we learn, okay? And it will be a good reminder for you since your graduation exams will be in a few weeks. Ah! And before I forget, I might not be here this afternoon. I don't know yet who will replace me but don't think that you can goof around just because I'm not here. I will know if you do. Is that understood?" His voice had taken a somber tone.

"-Yes, Iruka-sensei!"

Hours passed as the children answered Iruka's questions and he answered theirs. The observing group of four was amazed: the class had spoken of so many things! There were no math and no language classes. Instead, the children had spoken of history, politics, economics (albeit briefly), geography, topography, and so many scientific topics. In geology they studied different kinds of rocks and their characteristics. In biology they studied plants that could be dangerous, helpful, both, edible or used in any other way. They learnt how to predict the weather based on the clouds in the sky. They had a good knowledge of the human body. The visiting adults were shocked to see children knowing so many things. Admittedly, the knowledge wasn't extensive in any subject but the general knowledge of these young students was amazing.

The class became more agitated as the lunch hour grew closer. When one student was answering a question Iruka had just asked about a muscle in the leg, a realization dawned on the BAU team: what these children were learning, all these amazing things, tended to one goal, survival.

This realization stunned them. They weren't attending a class in a wonderful school. They were attending a military formation. These children were taught how to survive in the wilderness. They were taught _human_ anatomy. Not animal anatomy.

Their musing was interrupted when Iruka announced the end of the morning class. He reminded his students that he wouldn't be the one teaching them that afternoon but that they had to behave all the same. When the last student had left to have lunch, he motioned for the BAU to follow him.

"-So, not too disappointed?

-No, it was really interesting. We have a few questions, if you don't mind.

-Not at all but what about getting lunch first? Then I'll ask a colleague to supervise my class along with his for the afternoon so I can give you the tour and answer your questions.

-All right."

After leading the BAU team to the Academy cafeteria, Iruka disappeared for a while to arrange things for his class. He then joined the BAU at their table.

"-Ok, I'm all yours now. I managed to have a colleague look after them.

-Sorry for the trouble. We appreciate what you're doing.

-No problem. Hum… So I guess you have questions?" Iruka was actually surprised not to have been drowned yet by their questions. Emily was the one to answer him.

"-You don't even imagine!

-I guess so. Well, let's start small while we eat, then. Do you have any question concerning the class?

-Quite a few actually.

-The curriculum is impressive. Is it that extensive for all grades?

-We try to, in a sense. You might have noticed that the system is particular. There are different grades based on the level of the students rather than their age. We don't teach the same things in the same grade every year because some students need more than a year to reach the next grade. It's not usual but it's not rare either.

-How old are they when they start?

-This is also variable. Usually they start when they're 5 or 6, most often 6. Civilians who want to try the Academy usually start when they are 6, 7 or 8 depending on their parents and on the development of their body. Students usually graduate at around 12 but this might also change depending on the general level of the class and the individual level of each student.

-We were quite surprised by the program. Is it always this oriented?

-How so?

-Well, isn't it oriented toward survival? That's unsettling, to say the least.

-Ah, you caught that. Yes, it is indeed survival-oriented. I teach the seniors so it is already rather specialized. I'm supposed to prepare them for what's next. Junior grades and the ones in-between are far less survival-oriented, if at all. My class is also more practice-oriented, with the exception of the first grade. The first grade really puts the emphasis on the physical aspect; they spend almost all their time playing games. Although, to be honest, I'm pretty sure the teachers do that so the children spend their energy outside of the classroom.

-What's "next"?

-Like we reviewed this morning, our… profession is based on a ranking system of genin, chuunin and jounin. The Academy students are pre-genin. After graduation they'll hopefully attain the rank of genin. In doing so they will also officially become ninja of the village. In some cases and depending on the situation, becoming a genin also means becoming an adult, legally speaking, and full adulthood in the military system. Genin are placed on a 3-men team under the supervision of a jounin. After some time and based on their skills, they can become chuunin. Chuunin can operate on a team without a jounin leader. The promotion to jounin is the next step but it is not mandatory. Whether one decides to try for jounin or not depends mostly on one's motivation and expectations. For example, I've always wanted to be a teacher so I remained a chuunin.

-So jounin is the highest rank?

-Simply put, yes. In practice, it's more complex. I'm sure you are aware that our profession and our village are a military organization?

-We are.

-Like in any organization we have different branches, specializations if you like. Criteria for admission vary from one to another. The ranking system is common to the whole village, and other villages as well for that matter, but each department has its own criteria of selection regardless of the rank. In other words, there are differences of levels and skills within each rank. Genin are pretty much evenly matched. Skills can vary within the chuunin rank. Not wildly so but there is the whole range of above-genin to bellow-jounin chuunin. Jounin, on the other hand… There is a big difference between chuunin and jounin. Not all chuunin can become jounin. Among the jounin there are also big differences in levels and skills. Sometimes the difference between two jounin can be as great as between a chuunin and a jounin.

-How come there is no other rank, then?

-Genin, chuunin and jounin indicate the minimum requirements for each rank. In the case of jounin, progress and achievement vary so much that it would be too difficult to create another rank. Jounin are often specialized so their skills in their specialization can be way above the minimum requirement while other skills might not be. However, in a sense, there is a ranking system. Or rather, there is a classification of the jounin. It usually reflects the type of mission they can take. Jounin usually work alone or they lead chuunin team. The level of a jounin is also assessed by his or her position within the special branch they're part of if it is the case.

-What of the Hokage? Is she a jounin?

-She used to be. Kage is not a rank, though. It is a position. It is also an indication. Once in a while a very strong shinobi will rise to Kage-level without being a Kage. Kage-level shinobi are really powerful; they are in a league all on their own.

-Sounds complex.

-How do you know the rank of others? I mean, you all wear the same uniform, for what I can tell.

-True but in the village we tend to know who is what. And there are also other ways of knowing. Feeling for example.

-Feeling?

-Strong ninjas send a particular vibe. Jounin usually have an air of authority about them. You can also tell by the way they carry themselves. Although not always. It takes a keen eye. And by skills of course.

-Hm.

-So, you're a chuunin?

-I am.

-And Kakashi is a jounin?

-He is. A good one.

-What about Naruto and Sakura?

-Both officially chuunin but they're kind of a special case.

-Oh?

-Sorry, this is not my place to explain." By then, they had all finished their lunch.

"-Iruka, can I be honest with you?

-Of course, Morgan-san.

-Just Derek is fine. All that is nice and well but I still have trouble believing this "ninja" thing.

-I see." Iruka was lost in thoughts for a moment. "I have an idea. And it will fill our afternoon. Come with me."

Iruka led them to the two-story building where Derek and Emily had sparred some time ago. It was now bustling with life. Apparently, several Academy classes were practicing, if the number of children was any indication. Iruka explained as they walked through the building.

"-As you can see, the dojo is usually used by the Academy during the day but it's accessible to the public after hours. There are several types of rooms." As he said so, they entered a room where children were throwing things at circular targets. "This room is for target practice.

-What are they throwing?

-Dulled shuriken. It's like small metal stars that can be used for different purposes." They observed the children a bit longer. They were young and under the supervision of a man in uniform. The children's aim was not really good. They left the room and passed by two identical others. The next one was a regular dojo. The children – some of whom were from Iruka's class, they noticed – were seated on the floor against the wall while two were in the center. "This is a room for taijutsu practice. Taijutsu is one of the bases of ninja technique. It consists of hand-to-hand combat, either with or without weapon."

The BAU team watched as the two children in the center began to spar. Being pre-genin, they had nothing on the fight between Kakashi and Sakura, but still, the observers were highly surprised. The children' small bodies were fast and strong for children their age. The techniques were still sloppy but seeing children fight like that still made a strong impression. Iruka led them further in the building. They passed several other rooms similar to the dojo, some empty, some used by other groups of lower grade students. They took the stairs to reach the second floor.

"-This floor is usually used by the genin teams and their sensei. The lay-out is basically the same as the first floor. The targets in the target rooms are disposed differently but except from that, there is no major difference. Teams don't necessarily come here to train. It mostly depends on their sensei and the weather." As he explained this, they stopped by the entrance of a dojo. A team of three genin was practicing some katas under the supervision of their jounin sensei. The difference of skills with the Academy students was obvious: the movements were more precise and fluid.

"-Iari-san!" called Iruka.

"-Ah, good afternoon, Umino-san.

-Iruka-sensei!" came the voices of the three children.

"-How is everything going, you three?

-Super fine! We learn cool stuff!

-Good, good." The teacher turned to Iari. "I'm sorry for interrupting your training session.

-It's ok. Do you need anything?

-Actually, yes. I'm here with some guests," he gestured to the BAU team. Iari nodded to greet them, gesture that they returned. "And Tsunade-sama asked me to give them a tour. I was wondering if your students could show them some application of chakra so that they can better understand what it is?

-Hm, sure, I don't see why not but inside I can't show you much.

-That's ok, I might pass by one or two training grounds after that.

-Ok. Well, kids! Let's climb up for our guests. It'll be good practice for you too."

The BAU members' eyes widened: before them the children walked to the walls and then up the walls! Their body horizontal, they simply walked up the walls like it was the ground! And then they walked on the ceiling, upside down! The three children joined in the center of the ceiling and looked down on the visitors, grinning.

"-What the hell?" exclaimed Derek.

"-How? What?" Emily tried to ask.

"-How is that even possible?" asked Spencer. Aaron remained silent, eyes wide open in utter astonishment.

"-Children, why don't you enlighten our guests?

-Hai, sensei! We use chakra!

-We pour chakra into our feet and we stick to the walls and ceiling!

-We can do that too with our hands!" And to illustrate this, the girl put her hands on the ceiling and let herself fall. The BAU members moved to catch her but to their surprise she didn't fall. She remained stuck on the ceiling by her hands, feet dangling, body balancing. She moved her hands and hand-walked a few steps. She then let herself fall on the floor in an elegant and controlled crouch. The boys back-flipped and landed on the ground beside their teammate. The three of them were grinning. Iruka congratulated them. He thanked them and Iari, apologized again for interrupting their training, and moved to leave the room, motioning for the stunned visitors to follow him. As they left, Iari called Iruka back.

"-Umino-san, I think Tenten-san is practicing in the 500 today. And the Jungle is in use, too. It might be interesting for them to see it.

-Ok, sure, good idea. Thank you for the info, Iari-san. Have a nice afternoon!"

Outside of the room, Aaron asked what this was about.

"-The 500?

-Yes, it's another training room, number 500. It's in the chuunin dojo. I was planning to show you but I didn't know if it was in use. It's a good thing that it is."

The teacher led them outside and to another building, 10 minutes away from the first one. It was of similar proportion but had no window. As they entered, Iruka explained.

"-This building is for the chuunin mostly. Sometimes, though, jounin also come. The street-level floor has several rooms and an arsenal. These rooms are mostly used for taijutsu practice and weapon practice. We're not going to enter the rooms: nobody is there so there is nothing to see. Let's go to the upper floor." They took the stairs and arrived in a small room. One of the walls was a reinforced window showing a big room on the other side. A door led to the room, which was the size of the whole building. The five visitors stayed in the small viewing room. On the other side of the window was a young woman. She had brown hair in two loose buns and was wearing a white and red customized yukata. When they entered the small room, she turned toward them and smiled. She came to them, opening the door between the two rooms.

"-Iruka-sensei! Long time no see!

-Hello, Tenten, how are you?

-I'm fine, what about you? Coming for some training?

-I'm good, thanks. No, not today. I'm here to show our guests around. We come from the Small Dojo, Iari-san told me you were here.

-Yes, I've been working on something but it's not perfect yet.

-Do you mind if we watch you?

-Not at all, just don't enter, I don't want to hurt anybody." With that, she closed the door and went to the center of the room.

"-Tenten is an old student of mine. She's a fine jounin, now.

-Do you know what she's working on?

-Not exactly but knowing her, it involves weapons.

-How so?

-She's a weapon specialist. I believe what we're about to see will be interesting. She's about to start."

The BAU turned back to the window, observing. The young woman began a kata that she repeated again and again, each time gaining speed. The movement was fluid and elegant. It reminded them of water. She moved and turned and suddenly something prolonged her movement. The BAU gasped. In her hand was a dagger-like weapon. Where had she pulled it from?

"-Ah. Tenten has weapons everywhere on her. This is a kunai. It's a regular weapon."

She kept on repeating her kata. Suddenly there was a kunai in her other hand. Her movements were fast but not unbelievably so. Kunai kept appearing until she had four in each hand. Her movements changed. Instead of turning on herself, this kata was directed outward. To the astonishment of the BAU members, the kunai flew from her hands but didn't embed themselves on the walls. They kept moving and changing directions! The flying kunai completed her kata! How was it possible? She was directing and controlling her weapons at a distance! She moved elegantly in a dangerous but beautiful dance. It was mesmerizing.

"-Ah, I see she spent time with puppeteers.

-What?

-She's using chakra strings to control her weapons.

-Chakra strings?

-Yes. She expands strings of chakra from her fingers to her weapons, enabling her to move and direct them. I believe this is a defensive technique."

They observed the weapon mistress moving and turning and dancing with the deadly weapons. She was gaining speed. The kunai were making swishing noises, cutting the air around her. Elegant, fluid, beautiful. Deadly.

She was still gaining speed but suddenly two of the kunai broke from the dance and embedded themselves in the wall, penetrating it almost to the handle. Tenten slowed down and brought back the remaining kunai to her hands. She sighed and turned to the window.

"-See, still not perfect!"

Iruka cautiously opened the door.

"-Still impressive. Good work! I'm sure you'll figure it out.

-Oh, I will, I've only been practicing this for a week.

-You're staying?

-Yeah, I want to get it down as soon as possible.

-Ok then. Good luck!

-Thanks! See you around, sensei!"

The teacher smiled and closed the door. He turned to the others.

"-Any question?

-Are we dreaming?

-Ahah, no. Welcome to the world of ninja!" He said, laughing quietly.

"-I can't believe this." Quietly said Derek

"-I know, it can be hard to grasp. But this is our life.

-You can do that too?" asked Emily, incredulous.

"-What she does, no, I can't. Tenten is a very good weapon mistress. Very few people can do what she can do with weapons. But I can walk up walls." He finished jokingly. "Let's go to the Jungle, downstairs.

-What is the Jungle?" Asked Spencer, still unsure what to make of all this. Iruka answered him as they took the stairs back down and another flight still, going underground.

"-The Jungle is the surname of another training room. Here, this way," he said, taking a door labeled _Visitors_, next to one branded _563 – Trainees only_. They walked down a corridor, the left side of which was a long reinforced window. "This is the Jungle. It's a survival and endurance training room, as you can see." On the other side of the window was a huge room. The ground was one story lower than they were. There were obstacles everywhere: ropes, walls, rope ladders, planks, weapons… Four chuunin were jumping and running everywhere, throwing small exploding paint balls at one another. They were using every surface available, sticking here and there with chakra or propelling themselves in the air, turning and landing wherever they wanted or could.

"-Wow.

-This is crazy." Iruka laughed gently at their reaction. They stayed there for a bit longer, then Iruka proposed to continue the tour. As they walked outside, he continued to explain a few things.

"-So, you've seen some applications of chakra. It can also be used to reinforce a punch, a kick or a block in taijutsu. Like I said earlier, taijutsu is hand-to-hand combat. The other two bases of ninja techniques are ninjutsu and genjutsu. Genjutsu is the creation of a sensory illusion. Most of the time, it's visual, but it can also be auditory or, more rarely, olfactory. Auditory genjutsu is usually used to mess with someone's balance. Ninjutsu is the outward application of chakra, in opposition with taijutsu. Ninjutsu is the use of techniques, both offensive and defensive. It usually involves an element: air, water, earth, fire or electricity. We're heading to the training area, now. Hopefully, someone is using one of the chuunin or jounin training grounds.

-There are different training grounds?

-Yes. There are the genin, chuunin and jounin training grounds.

-What's the difference between them?

-Safety and damage. Genin grounds are mostly safe since genin are not really dangerous, at least for other ninjas. Chuunin and jounin grounds are more dangerous. It is forbidden for civilians to enter a training ground without a shinobi of the adequate rank. We, ninja, are nasty fighters. Unless a training ground has been declared cleared, there is always a risk of active traps lying around, even on genin grounds.

-Traps?

-Yes. Some training grounds are especially reserved for trap training. These are mine fields. Not all training grounds can be used for all kinds of training. Heavy ninjutsu sessions can be quite damaging and repairing a training ground takes time.

-We used the training ground 23 yesterday.

-Ah, chuunin. Not too fragile, not heavily booby trapped. What did you use it for?

-We sparred with Kakashi and Sakura.

-Really? That's impressive. They don't allow a lot of people in their training. You're lucky.

-It didn't end really well.

-Sorry to hear that. Well, here we are. Wait for me, please, I'm going to see who is here and if we can watch a bit." Iruka left them at the entrance of the training area.

"-Hotch?

-Morgan?

-Did you see all that?

-Yes. I can hardly believe it but I saw.

-This is fantastic!

-Reid, this is crazy!

-Yes, it is but it's fantastic! Emily, can you imagine! It's unbelievable! I wonder how their body is able to do that! Do you believe that they can use a higher percentage of their brain? Do you think we could that too if we could use it better? I wonder how the chemistry of the brain is balanced. Does the chakra influences the chemistry of the brain of is it the other way around?" Aaron, Derek and Emily watched him with a kind of stunned fascination as he fired dozens of questions, too low and fast for them to really hear. They caught a few words of chemistry and biology but quickly tuned him out. Instead they talked among themselves.

"-How is it even possible? Where are we? Have you ever heard of a place like this?

-No. I don't even know what to think of all this.

-Hotch, who are these people?

-I don't know, Morgan. I'm in the dark just like you.

-Well, no wonder Kakashi and Sakura could keep up with us if they've been doing that their whole life.

-Yeah! Makes me wonder what they're truly capable of.

-Let's not ask questions we don't want to know the answer to.

-Come on, Hotch!

-Yeah, don't tell me you're not a little bit curious, too!

-Think about it! Children, _children_ can walk on the bloody ceiling! What can adults do? You saw that Tenten girl! She was dancing with flying weapons!" Aaron didn't answer her, too lost in his thoughts. They continued to wait on Iruka in silence. He came back to them and led them into different training grounds, each time staying to observe shinobi training in ninjutsu.

After an hour of incredulous observation, the group of five was on its way back to the Academy. The afternoon was giving way to the evening. What they had witnessed at the training ground was crazy. Ninjutsu was even harder to believe than children walking on walls. The two chuunin who had been training were of water and earth element, respectively. They manipulated and controlled the elements in ways that had the BAU gaping and pinching themselves. Slowly they had come to accept that what Sakura and Kakashi had done was not a hallucination, that maybe chakra and ninjas were real. Their questions had slowly subsided and gave way to a silent and resigned observation. Now they were back in Iruka's class room.

"-Ninjas are real." Emily's tone was resigned but the surprise, shock and disbelief weren't completely gone yet.

"-We are." Iruka's tone was quiet and understanding.

"-Wow." After a few more minutes in stunned silence, Aaron addressed Iruka.

"-Iruka, can I ask you a question?

-Of course.

-Yesterday, during training someone came and kneeled before Sakura. What does that mean?

-Did he present something to her?

-Yes, we didn't see clearly but it resembled a ribbon." Iruka sighed.

"-He salute-presented someone's hitai-ate to her. The hitai-ate is what marks us as shinobi of Konoha. It's usually used as a headband. Salute-presenting a hitai-ate is a way to announce someone's death. The salute is only addressed to the deceased's family by the deceased's comrades. It's a mark of profound respect and condolences. I'm sorry to hear that Sakura lost Ren.

-How do you know it was him?

-Like I said, salute-presenting a hitai-ate is reserved for the deceased's family. And I know that Ren was very serious about Sakura. His comrades must have thought that he would have liked for her to have his headband.

-That person had a mask. What does that mean?

-It means that he's an ANBU.

-What is that?

-ANBU is a special branch of our forces. They're the elite and the personal guards of the Hokage. They answer only to her and their commander. Their identity is secret, that's why they use the masks. It is unusual for them to show themselves except when the Hokage summons someone. I'm surprised he allowed you to see him.

-Hm. The elite, uh? So all the jounin are ANBU?

-No. ANBU is a choice. They… handle the difficult business. Not everyone can handle that.

-What are the other special branches?

-I'm not sure I can tell you that, I'm sorry."

The BAU were silent for a few minutes. Spencer looked around him, uncomfortable in this room where children learned too many things. Iruka noticed it.

"-Look, I understand that you're not really comfortable with this but please don't judge us too harshly. We love our children and we try to protect them for as long as possible. But we live in a world that doesn't leave us with much of a choice. This is how we live. And believe me, in Konoha, life is good. Children can have a childhood here. They can grow up and they can be civilians. It is not as bad as you may think it is. In this village, nobody becomes ninja against one's will. You have to understand that being a ninja is not only a job. It's a life style. We never really stop being ninja. We don't stop being ninja when we get back home after a day of work. Being a shinobi means living for our country, for our village, for our children. Our life doesn't belong to us. It belongs to the people of Konoha. It's a 24/7 thing. And it can be taxing. Not everyone can manage that. People retire, people quit but we can never forget. Even if we try, our body won't let us.

-What do you mean?

-Reflexes, senses, it's ingrained in us. I have it easy. I'm an Academy teacher, always have been. I'm no fighter, I'm no spy, I'm no… Others, though, they see and live things that I will probably never see and live. And I'm happy with that. And grateful. Because thanks to them I get to watch children grow. Thanks to those who are better than me, I can live in peace in Konoha. Konoha is not just a place. Sure the village is nice but it is more than just that. Konoha is _home_. Konoha is peace, it's where it's safe to sleep at night. Being a ninja is not easy but having a place like Konoha where we can come back to makes it worthwhile. And that is what we defend and fight for."

Iruka' speech had the BAU pensive. They quietly thanked him for the day and the tour and bade him goodbye. They left the Academy is a thoughtful mood. They went back to their hostel. On their way, they decided to stop by the noodle bar they'd already frequented a few times, Ichiraku.

They sat down heavily, still silent and lost in thoughts. After a few minutes, they ordered. Derek whispered.

"-So… Ninjas are real.

-Yeah."

Teuchi, having heard the comment, came closer to them as Ayame kept preparing their order.

"-Rough day?

-You can say that.

-Yeah, hard to take it all in, uh?

-Uh?

-I just heard what you said, about ninjas. First time in a hidden village, from what I understood the last time?

-Yes.

-Well, I can certainly understand your shock. Here," the man said, serving them a cup of sake each, "you seem to need it. On the house.

-Thank you.

-Thanks.

-I don't drink.

-It'll do you good, kid.

-Reid, come on, you know you need it." That seems to convince him.

They sipped from their cup.

"-So," asked Emily, "you knew?

-About ninjas? Yeah. Kinda hard not to when you live in a hidden village. Or in any place of mild importance in the Elemental countries, really.

-Are you a ninja?

-Me?! No, no. I'm just a simple ramen chef. But I've been around for a few years now, one might say. and I have a good clientele. Quite a lot of them eat here somewhat regularly.

-So you know them pretty well?

-Well, it's hard to know with them. I wouldn't say I know them all that well, but yeah, more than others, I guess. Ninjas are a special bunch, you know?

-We saw.

-Really?

-We were given a tour.

-Hum. You must have seen some incredible stuff, then.

-Is it not routine, for you, to see that kind of things?

-No. See, ninjas, they tend to keep to themselves. I mean, we see them around and they come here to eat. But they're a secretive bunch of people. How could I explain? Konoha is a hidden village. That means that it's a ninja village. But it was also built for civilians. Actually, it was built mainly for civilians. Shodaime-sama built the village so that we could live in peace, under the protection of the ninjas. At least, that's what I know of it." At some point Ayame placed their order in front of the team and passively joined in on the conversation.

"-So they protect you?

-Among other things, yes. They're not like bodyguards – although they can be hired to be. We can live here because _they_ are here.

-What do they do? I mean, we've seen what they can do but… How does that work with the civilians?

-Oh actually, aside from the occasional customer, we don't interact all that much. I'm not sure what it is they do actually. There are stories but that's about all I know.

-What kind of stories?

-Stories about great feats, great warriors, about legends and what they can do.

-About people of great powers." This time, it was Ayame who was speaking. "Shodaime-sama was said to have been able to create entire forests and fight bijuus. The Sannin, Tsunade-sama's team, is legendary.

-How so?

-They accomplished great prowess during the Second Great War. They fought Hanzo and were elevated to the rank of legends. Tsunade-Hokage-sama was the best medic-nin in the world for a long time.

-Was?

-Ah. Now, Sakura is her equal." The BAU team was surprised by that. Sakura was so young!

"-The White Fang was said to be even stronger than them. Yondaime Hokage-sama defeated the Kyuubi and put an end to the Third Great War.

-Are these people still alive?

-Two of the Sannin still are.

-And the others?

-All dead.

-So it was all in the past? What about now?

-Oh, there are still plenty of powerful ninjas around. Take Kakashi, for example.

-Kakashi?

-Sharingan no Kakashi, the Copy Cat. He is said to have copied over a thousand jutsu. He's one of the best ninjas of the Leaf, ever since he was a kid."

The conversation quieted down. After a few minutes of astonished silence, Teuchi started talking again as Ayame left by a side door.

"-Ninjas… They're an odd group. Like I said, they're quite secretive. We don't know much about their profession. The people I just mentioned, those are the few strong enough that their stories reach us, civilians. But there are a lot that we don't hear about. And then some we wish we hadn't heard about, too. Cruel men, who have done terrible things. Ninjas are capable of incredible feats, both good and bad. They are humans, yes, even if it is sometimes questionable. Don't let yourself forget that. Those here in Konoha, they're good people. I don't care if they have killed. I don't care if they're assassins or weapons of mass destruction, because thanks to them, I got to see my daughter grow up and become a woman and a mother.

-And what a woman she is, old man!" came a new voice from behind, startling everyone. The four behavior analysts turned around and were faced with a grinning Genma. "You know, old man, that was very touching.

-Ah! Genma! Sit and order!"

The ninja did just that, greeting the four customers.

"-Now, where is that beautiful woman?

-What is it to you? Need some babysitting, young lad?" joked Teuchi.

"-Now, now, Teuchi, don't make fun of the trained assassin, I know where you live!"

The easy banter continued as Teuchi prepared his order. The BAU team, tired, paid, said their goodbye and headed back to the hotel. They went to sleep the head swirling with questions and reflections and all kinds of things. What a crazy day.

* * *

**AN**: _I know there is no distinction between the two other than the language in cannon but I created one for clarity and the BAU's sake. So yeah, deal with it :p_


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